


Through Your Eyes

by RobronSugdenDingle



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Anger, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anorexia, Attempt at Humor, Body Horror, Body Image, Body Modification, Bulimia, Bullying, Cell Phones, Complicated Relationships, Cute, Cute Ending, Depressing, Depression, Domestic Fluff, Drunk Robert, Eating, Eating Disorders, Established Relationship, Fat Shaming, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Fluffy Ending, Force Choking, Healthy Relationships, Heavy Angst, High School, Humor, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Inappropriate Humor, M/M, Overdosing, Past Relationship(s), Pillow Talk, Protective Aaron, Protective Siblings, References to Depression, Robert's Rebellion, Romantic Fluff, Running, Running Away, Sad Aaron Dingle, Scared Robert Sugden, Sex, Sexual Humor, Sharing a Bed, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Siblings, Skipping Class, Social Issues, Social Media, Sports, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes, Swearing, Tears, Teenage Dorks, Teenage Drama, Teenage Rebellion, Teenagers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vomiting, Young Aaron Dingle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 03:10:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 58,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17541548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobronSugdenDingle/pseuds/RobronSugdenDingle
Summary: Robert loves his life. He's happy with his boyfriend of two years, has already planned out his future job and he knows he wants a dog called Olivia because Aaron never shuts up about wanting one. He has plenty of friends, gets straight A's in everything and works hard to achieve his goal.Until an unknown number begins to text Robert various mean comments, telling him he's ugly, fat and disgusting. Robert eventually ends up leaning out of his perfect life and creates a new one where he's alone.And no-one can help him.





	Through Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god! Hello! Hi! Hope you guys had a great Christmas and a new year! So, I will update My Property very soon, but this was my super long project I was working on for a while. I did a lot of research, most of this is personal to me and this took so long because I've been forever in and out of hospitals. I'm homebound now though, which means more time to write Fanfics. So enjoy this! And read the tags if you're sensitive to heavy topics.
> 
> Enjoy!

**2nd May- Saturday**

.

.

.  
  
Chas finished making up the sweets tray by placing two packets of salt and vinegar crisps that were ready to go out of date in a couple of days and grabbed two bottles of cola. She balanced it on one single tray and headed out the kitchen to walk upstairs to hand it over to her son and his boyfriend upstairs. It had been what, two years now? Yeah, two years since they came home and made a crazy announcement of them being boyfriends.  
  
Chas was a little odd about it because Robert was sixteen and Aaron was 15 but hey, apparently age didn't matter to them. Jack, Roberts father wasn't exactly pleased to find out that his son was bisexual and that meant he was lowered to a 50% chance of having grandkids with Robert but he grew out if it after a month.  
  
Chas pushed opened Aaron's bedroom door, completely forgetting the rule of Robert and Aaron's Saturday movie dates and only rolled her eyes when Aaron got out of Roberts lap, scrambling to sit at the bottom of the bed instead.  
  
"Mum! Would you-!"  
  
"Knock? Yes, well I forgot didn't I? I shouldn't have to knock anyways, seeing as it is my house..."  
  
Robert only grinned and leaned back against the pillows. Both of them were still fully clothed thankfully and she looked at the television only to find it on the play menu. Had they even watched the movie at all? Robert sent her a cheeky smirk.  
  
"Chastity"  
  
"Robert. Mind not snogging my son with the room door unlocked?"  
  
"Mind knocking before coming in?"  
  
She smacked the back of his head with a smile and he chuckled and sat up properly. Aaron took the tray from his mum and set it on the bedside table.  
  
"Right, thanks mum. Bye"  
  
She rolled her eyes again.  
  
"Charming. You staying for dinner Robert?"  
  
"Nah, I'm alright. We're going out later. Adams throwing a small party and Moiras doing a barbeque"  
  
"So, you're saying that if i were to call Moira, she'd say it's true?"  
  
Aaron glared at her, angry with her not believing them as per usual. Then again, she had every right to since last time they said they'd meet Chas at the carnival and ended up going somewhere else for a quickie. Chas was stuck riding the stupid twister with Paddy who puked all over her shoes afterwards.  
  
Robert nodded and held his phone out to Chas.  
  
"Call her. Bet she'll say she knows"  
  
She was about to take the phone, only to have second and third thoughts about looking like an idiot and instead, nodded and waved to the boys before walking out. Aaron stood and walked after her to shut the door since she never remembered to do exactly that and he locked it. Robert dropped his phone on the floor and Aaron resumed back in his position before his mum walked in and set himself back on Roberts lap, legs spread on either side of his stomach.  
  
Their movie dates happened every single Saturday and so far, they hadn't missed any, even when they were sick. They truly had grown to become that cheesy couple that hated spending any time apart. Their movie dates always ended up with them sticking on a random movie and then snogging and laughing for a full hour.  
  
Which is what they had been doing before Chas walked in.  
  
Aaron kissed Robert again, sighing heavily into it with his hands on either side of Roberts cheeks, thumbing the corner of his lips to make him smile like he usually did. Roberts hands always wandered around Aaron's body, not in a sexual way unless they wanted it to be like that, just happily roaming his back and his bum, again not in a sexual way. He squeezed it, making Aaron yelp into his mouth and laughed and Aaron decided enough was enough and pulled away.  
  
He ended up sitting on Roberts stomach and reached over to the bedside table to grab a packet of crisps. There was a small plate of party rings and he grabbed two instead and placed them both on Roberts eyes. Robert pretended to glare at him before actually wondering what he was doing.  
  
"Uhh...what you doing you weirdo?"  
  
"Making you see the one thing that's always on your mind..."  
  
"Food? You cheek-I ain't fat!"  
  
"You sure? You seen your stomach lately? I'm gonna have to give you some of Paddys shirts if you keep this up"  
  
Robert scoffed and immediately grabbed the sides of Aaron's arms and rolled them over on the bed so he was pinning him down instead. The party rings fell on top of the bed covers and Aaron cringed when his elbow broke one underneath. Robert grabbed a packet of crisps and opened them and shoved a handful in his mouth. He crunched loudly and looked down.  
  
"Caw me fat one more pime?"  
  
Aaron widened his eyes. No. Surely Robert wouldn't actually spit his crisps out onto Aaron. Surely not. Especially on his bed! First of all, Chas would kill him and second, he hated crumbs on his bed. Worst feeling ever. Still, he decided to chance it.  
  
"Sorry what was that? Your fat lips aren't saying much, all I can hear is the sound of you eating"  
  
Robert raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth slightly and one crumb accidentally slipped out to fall beside Aaron's face.  
  
Oh god. He actually would.  
  
He opened his mouth wider whilst humming and Aaron gave up.  
  
"Ok! Ok! You win! Stop!"  
  
Robert shut his mouth instantly and ate the rest of his crisps and rolled off of Aaron to lay beside him. He hiked an arm up and Aaron moved so he was underneath Roberts armpit, head on his neck.  
  
"God I hate you..."  
  
"Pfft as if. You need me to help you with your algebra"  
  
"Oh yeah, forgot that's the only reason we're together..."  
  
Aaron smacked his stomach but smiled anyways and he only realised what Robert had told his mum earlier.  
  
"Are we really going to the barbeque?"  
  
"Yup. Well I am. Aren't you in some desperate need for a drink now and then?"  
  
"Considering I live in a pub? Well...no"  
  
"Ah. You are bringing the vodka right?"  
  
"Oh. Yeah yeah definitely. There's two in my bag. One or two tonight?"  
  
Robert thought about it but eventually settled on an answer. As much as he wanted to get completely drunk and have a good time, he did have a test coming up and tomorrow was full of his study plans. Plus studying was already hard enough to do nevermind with a hangover.  
  
"Uhh...just one. I need to study tomorrow"  
  
Aaron nodded in agreement since he remembered he had footie practice tomorrow. He always did have football practice on a Sunday, and usually Robert would go watch but since he was studying...it meant he couldn't. He could study at the practice, but two reasons made him not. Such as...the windy area they actually practiced in and Aaron himself. Having a boyfriend all sweaty and adorable meant distractions....pure pure distraction.  
  
It's why they put their dates on Saturdays only.  
  
"So...when should we start getting ready?"  
  
Robert grabbed his phone from the floor and switched it on. It was ten past four in the afternoon and the party didn't start until six so...  
  
"Half five sound ok?"  
  
Aaron looked up at him with wide and hopeful eyes.  
  
"Does that mean a nap?"  
  
"Yeah definitely"  
  
"Ok. Sounds perfect"  
  
They did end up taking a much needed nap, the treats tray sitting abandoned on the beside table, packet of crisps spilled on the carpet. Aaron's going to kill Robert when he wakes up. The party rings are probably going to end up soggy if they don't eat them when they wake and Chas is probably going to sneak in the room to take a picture of them whilst they sleep.  
  
Good thing Aaron locked the door isn't it?  
  
They woke to Roberts phone alarm going off and Robert grabbed it with a groan because you know that feeling you get when you take a five minute nap and then end up dying for just another few...days to sleep? Aaron didn't get up until Robert loosened his hold on him and when he did, he accidentally stepped on the spilled packet of crisps.  
  
"Oh for fu-!"  
  
"Shit did I spill them? Sorry"  
  
"You're not even the least bit sorry are you?"  
  
Robert shook his head, guilty of his true answer because no, he was not sorry. Seeing Aaron stand on crisps meant he would stand there in front of him longer and it meant he had a perfect view of his boyfriends bum so no...He was completely and never will be sorry about this.  
  
Aaron ignored it though and walked over to the cupboard to grab something for him to wear tonight. He kept on looking through each one before turning to Robert who was still lazily spread out on the bed.  
  
"You still have my blue jumper?"  
  
"The one with the rip?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"You left it over at mines the other day"  
  
Aaron went back looking through his clothes. He did take out a red checkered flannel and Robert sat up.  
  
"Oh! I'll take that!"  
  
Aaron threw it over to Robert who caught it and Robert slung it on, buttoning up the buttons and rolling the sleeves up. It was kind of funny actually, that Robert and Aaron had each other's clothes. They practically had two homes at each other's houses and it meant that Aaron's cupboard was full of both his and Roberts t-shirts and flannels because Robert had grown a weird obsession with the lumberjack looking clothes. The only clothes they couldn't share however, was trousers because Robert was a whole head taller than Aaron. Aaron grabbed a black t-shirt and wiggled it in front of Robert, silently asking for his approval.  
  
"What you wearing it with?"  
  
Aaron pointed at the black bubble jacket hanging on the back of his door and Robert pointed at the wardrobe.  
  
"What about the grey t-shirt?"  
  
"This one?"  
  
"Mhmm"  
  
"Ok then"  
  
Once they had both dressed, they went into the bathroom to grab Lynx deodrants and sprayed way too much on each of them making them cough and splutter. Chas walked by, carrying the laundry basket full of clothes and she scrunched her nose up.  
  
"Oi, don't spray too much or you'll set the fire alarm off!"  
  
"Sorry mum!"  
  
"Sorry Chas!"  
  
She rolled her eyes, knowing that they would take forever in there, especially with Robert and his ridiculous amount of products he used just to spike up the front of his blonde hair. Tintin, Chas had always called him, because of that one flick of hair on the front. Aaron always just used a comb to straighten his curls he got sometimes and water to flatten them down. Robert however, used this weird mousse thing and then a comb and then he would gel it, hair spray it and then do something else.  
  
Chas wondered how Aaron ended up with such a high maintenance boyfriend.  
  
Remembering she heated them up some pie from earlier, she peeked in and tried not to laugh at Aaron glaring at Robert as he fixed himself up.  
  
"Oi you two, well Aaron. If you're planning on drinking, remember, only two drinks ok? And there's pie in the kitchen heated up for yous"  
  
Aaron nodded and Chas gave him one of her famous 'I'm your mother and I know everything' smirk.  
  
"Oh also, Aaron, if you could give me back the two bottles of vodka while your boyfriend fixes himself then that would also be great"  
  
She walked away and Robert held back a laugh as Aaron stood there with his mouth wide open, believing in her famous statement of knowing everything after all. He grudgingly left the bathroom and handed Chas back the two bottles of vodka from his bag and grabbed his plate with the slice of pie, pouring gravy over the two of them before Roberts got cold.  
  
When Robert had finished fixing himself up, he walked through, ate his slightly warm pie and thanked Chas as per usual with a cheeky comment of it tasting apparently burnt a little.  
  
When they grabbed their jackets as they were ready to leave, Chas held them both back and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Remember-"  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yeah Yeah, two drinks only. Look, Robert will probably end up grassing me up if I take anymore...besides, I've got footy tomorrow remember?"  
  
"I know love, but last time you said two drinks, I was cleaning up your puke from the blinds the next day!"  
  
Robert snickered and Aaron elbowed him to shut up. They gave Chas a hug and finally left the pub to head to the barbeque. The good thing about it being May, was the summer heat, the warm air and the longer days. Robert was 18 which meant he no longer needed the lecture from Chas and his own dad and of course it meant that he had to find a job soon to start paying digs in the house. Andy already paid digs by helping Jack with the farming and Robert knew he never ever wanted to be caught dead helping out with a farm. No, he could see himself in a snazzy business suit as he charmed everyone to get his own way in a deal. Maybe a house estate manager? They made a hell of a load of money didn't they?  
  
Aaron elbowing him knocked him out of his questionable plans for the future.  
  
"Hey, you alright? You're quiet?"  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, just thinking"  
  
"Oh god, now I'm worried"  
  
"Shut up. No I mean...well I'm leaving school this year, I've got my final exams..."  
  
Aaron immediately stopped him straight away.  
  
"Nope. No, no school talk on date nights. I thought we agreed, it just stresses you out and pisses me off because we both know I'm this close to smacking Mr Ferguson. He hates me!"  
  
"To be fair, you and Adam did smash his photo..."  
  
"By accident!"  
  
"You threw a rubber at it!"  
  
"I was aiming for him!"  
  
Just like that, the pair were back to their bickering ways, always arguing like the stupid loved up couple they were. When they reached the field, Robert was seriously debating whether wearing his new white trainers were the best choice for a muddy field. Aaron didn't care though, he always wore black and cared less if his shoes had a hole in the front. One time he literally wore trainers with the sole flapping off and the school called his mum to bring up new shoes for him. He received a smack by Chas for apparently embarrassing her and making her out to be a bad mum.  
  
They didn't speak for two whole weeks. Aaron and Chas that was.  
  
"Hey! Lovers spat already mate?!"  
  
And there he was. Adam. The big overgrown puppy dog that everybody loved. He was still growing on Robert but that might just be because he's going out with his sister. Adam gave Aaron a hug and awkwardly patted Roberts shoulder as he looked up at the taller blonde.  
  
"Your sister coming tonight?"  
  
"I dunno. I've been with him all day"  
  
Adam smirked before pretending he was disgusted by the pair of them.  
  
"Eww! Too much info mate! TMI TMI!"  
  
Robert rolled his eyes to the heavens above. Of course...of course Adam had to be that friend who turned everything you said into something dirty. You could literally say you wanted to eat some chocolate and Adam would remember a scene from some porno he's watched about a woman eating chocolate off of some guys dick or something.  
  
Robert looked around to find Moira and he nudged Adam.  
  
"Oi, barbeque on?"  
  
Adam nodded.  
  
"Yeah, about that...apparently there's some law in Emmerdale that we can't hold a barbeque unless we've got all the like bricks and stuff. Proper kit and whatever. Health and safety apparently, so there's a buffet inside that mum's spread out"  
  
Aaron leaned in.  
  
"Any carrot sticks?"  
  
Adam gave him that smile, that smile he had that meant one thing only. A dirty thing was coming up...  
  
"Oh, you not got enough of Roberts carrots already?"  
  
Aaron shoved him.  
  
"Oh for fucks sake Adam!"  
  
Adams laugh truly was contagious.  
  
.....  
  
The party flew in and left. Moira had went to bed early to soothe her sore head and apparently, some girl, maybe one of Hollys friends, had thrown up in the livingroom and Moira had thrown her out by her hair. Aaron wished he had seen that. Victoria had spilled her disgusting healthy tomato juice down her white top and Adam had given her one of his t-shirts and all day, Adam hadn't stopped staring at her much to Roberts annoyance.  
  
As soon as Adams hand was a centimetre away from touching her breast accidentally, Robert had nearly lunged for him because did he have to do that right in front of him? He was her big brother! Though thankfully, Adam hadn't taken it any further and Aaron had dragged them both away from the party as soon as he saw his ex from a few years ago. Finn. Though...did it count as an ex if you just slept with him to get rid of your virginity?  
  
And did it count as an ex if they were both 14 at the time?  
  
Still though, it seemed that Finn still hadn't gotten over Aaron and was still desperately head over heels with him. Apparently he had tried it on with the foreign student last year, Kasim, but then he had to move and Finn was left alone once again.  
  
Aaron and Robert ended up inside the house, in the kitchen as they ate the delicious tiny burgers Moira had whipped up. Aaron was on his third cola with a dash of Vodka he had managed to sneak away in a flask and of course, Moira being Moira, walked in on them.  
  
"Aaron? That your second cup?"  
  
Aaron looked down at his cup and then to Moira. He never was a good liar.  
  
"Yes"  
  
"You're a terrible liar. Go on, hand it over or I'll tell your mum"  
  
And Aaron did hand it over because fuck having to deal with Moiras temper. It was true what the classic stereotypes say about a Scottish person, their tempers are off the roof when they're pissed off at you. And Moira was no exception. Moira took the cup and sniffed it.  
  
"Vodka aswell?"  
  
Aaron nodded.  
  
"Fair enough. I'll take this then"  
  
Much to their amusements, Moira didn't empty it down the sink, instead, she downed it in one and tossed the empty plastic cup in the bin as she wiped her mouth with her arm.  
  
"Go on Robert, take him home. You know what Chas is like. Panics and everything and I'm not being on the other end of her calls. Go on, party's about to end in a minute"  
  
She walked out the house, probably to tell everyone to start heading home and Robert did as he was told, took Aaron home. He bumped into Victoria and quickly nudged her.  
  
"Hey, I'm staying at Aaron's tonight ok?"  
  
"Yeah ok. Remember you need to be home for ten tomorrow, Dads got a delivery and you need to be there for it"  
  
"Alright, see you!"  
  
Robert helped guide his boyfriend home despite them both not being drunk at all. Their heads buzzed and their skin was tingly all over but they didn't feel drunk or even tipsy for that matter. The amount of food they ate probably helped sober them up quicker than usual to be fair. Aaron kissed Robert all over and when they went into the pub through the back at half past 11, Aaron nearly tripped up the stairs making Robert laugh probably a bit too loud for this time.  
  
When they finally reached the bedroom, Aaron sent Robert a well knowing look and shoved him on the bed and yanked his flannel and t-shirt off, Roberts hands already unfastening the button on his jeans. They didn't even bother to get underneath the covers.  
  
The next day, Paddy accidentally walked in the room without knocking and Robert thought he let out the biggest 'fuck!' ever.

 

......................................................

 

**4th May- Monday**

 .

.

.

  
School sucked. Monday's sucked. Mr Ferguson sucked. Waking up at six in the morning sucked. Waiting for the bus in the freezing cold sucked if your boyfriend slept in and you weren't allowed to go to his house because he texted you the other day saying it was best to stay away because he was into it with his father at the moment.  
  
Deep breaths...  
  
Aaron waited inside the school in the yard at their meeting place, the group's meeting place actually, which meant the wooden table and bench in the yard with the big crack in the middle. They didn't know how it became their table, just that as soon as Robert had started his final year and he was waiting for Aaron in the morning, nobody else had gone near the table. Robert liked to be cocky and tease Aaron that he was probably scary.  
  
Maybe it was his anxiety or something but Aaron swore that everyone had been staring at him, looking him up and down before walking into the school building. He and Robert were openly gay, well Aaron was, Robert was openly bisexual. But everyone knew this and nobody had ever been homophobic to them, never dissing them once.  
  
Now though, it was starting to feel different...  
  
Because everyone kept flippin staring! Adam had texted Aaron earlier and told him that he was gonna skip first period today because he forgot to do his English homework and Victoria coincidentally said the same...hmm...coincidence much?  
  
Finally, Aaron saw him. By him, he meant his boyfriend, Robert.  
  
He adjusted his shoulder bag that Aaron had always called him girly for owning and Robert would always tell him it wasn't girly if it made him look sophisticated. Simple as that.  
  
Robert walked up to Aaron, Aaron spreading his legs enough so Robert could lean in between them and give Aaron a kiss. Aaron grimaced, tasted like Robert hadn't had enough time to brush his teeth.  
  
"Want a chewing gum?"  
  
Robert narrowed his eyes, offended that he had just been called out on his bad breath. He breathed out onto his palm and sniffed it and grimaced himself.  
  
"Ew, yeah actually. Sorry"  
  
Aaron handed him two chewing gums and Robert chewed them as fast as he could before letting out a deep breath. Much better, minty and fresh.  
  
"Sorry. Slept in and dad was in one of his usual moods. Ended up into a full blown argument of the usual crap"  
  
"Lemme guess, you need to find a job or help out on the farm and-"  
  
"Start paying digs? Yes"  
  
Robert moved so he could sit on the table beside Aaron and he sighed. Thinking about it now, it was pretty sad that the young couple knew how Roberts dad was, how predictable he had grown to be. As soon as he started talking about responsibilities, Robert would run out of there because he knew it would end up into a shouting match between them. Jack won every time because Robert would forfeit and run away.  
  
It seemed then that Robert only realised that everyone was staring at them and he glanced towards Aaron who looked uneasy at all the attention he was getting from people he hardly knew.  
  
"Aaron, is it just me or is everyone staring at us?"  
  
"Uhh...No. Everyone has been staring at us..."  
  
Robert opened his mouth to talk when suddenly, he heard a high pitched squeal and someone squeezed his shoulders hard. He jumped out of his skin and the person ran around to stand in front of Robert and Aaron. Ahh, the school gossiper...  
  
Priya Sharma...  
  
"So?! Go on! Show us then!"  
  
Aaron looked at her in confusion and Robert was speechless because...  
  
"What?"  
  
Priya rolled her eyes and stuck her hand on her hip, skirt riding up a little bit. She was cool, confident and cared less about what anybody said about her. She decided that she wanted to become president when she was in her first year of secondary school and nobody messed with her. She was all of that and of course, she loved to gossip. Gossiping was her favourite thing to do, Robert wondered why she didn't want to become a journalist instead.  
  
She didn't answer Robert though and instead, grabbed his hands to which Aaron smacked her hands out of his instantly and squeezed Roberts. She winced and Robert gave a secret smile. He couldn't lie but Aaron was adorable when he was being all jealous but protective and lovey mode. Aaron was adorable full stop.  
  
"Alright, no need to smack my hand Dingle. Just wanted to say my congratulations!"  
  
Congratulations? Was it an anniversary or something? No it couldn't have been...Robert and Aaron would know. Still, they had to find out what she was talking about.  
  
Robert raised an eyebrow and Aaron squeezed his hands again. What?.  
  
"Uhh your engagement?"  
  
Robert and Aaron looked at each other blankly and then to Priya and then back to each other and when they looked back to Priya, they laughed in her face. They didn't hold back either because surely this was some joke wasn't it? This wasn't like that movie where the couple get so drunk they end up married in Vegas but can't remember. Oh god...was it?  
  
Aaron pretended to wipe his eyes of laughing tears and looked at Priya.  
  
"Priya, what the hell are you on about?"  
  
She crossed her arms, angry at being laughed at, embarrassed even.  
  
"So it was a joke then? You and Robert being engaged? It's on your Facebook page! Was posted last night!"  
  
Robert took out his phone and went on Facebook and sure enough, apparently he posted that he and Aaron were engaged, the caption showing three heart emojis and the word engaged and the picture looked like it was from Google images or something. Robert groaned.  
  
"Fuck...think I got hacked then. People are gonna think we're engaged!"  
  
Aaron scowled at that and pointed at his phone.  
  
"There's been a lot of people who've been hacked recently. You're gonna need to delete it..."  
  
"Wha-i just got over 800 friends!"  
  
Priya walked away, ready to gossip to everyone about Roberts new Facebook to be on the look for because he was hacked. She would probably exaggerate the story and say to everyone that a terrorist was threatening Robert to hand over his credit card info over Facebook or he would get hacked or something.  
  
Again, it was Priya after all.  
  
Aaron thought back to Roberts exclaim a couple of seconds ago, about how angry or shocked (disgusted even?) he would be if people were to find out they were engaged. They weren't engaged, definitely too young for that but Robert sort of gave off the impression that he didn't want to get married or engaged, ever. Was this truly just a high school relationship? Was that all they were destined to be? High school lovers only? They hadn't actually sat down and had a proper conversation about their future together because they didn't think to. Again, they were only teenagers themselves. The future was ages away!  
  
The bell rang and Robert nudged Aaron's elbow.  
  
"You coming?"  
  
"Uh, yeah sure"  
  
They both walked inside the building and separated to head to their classes. Aaron was surprised to find Adam in his seat in the classroom and he sat down and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Thought you were planning to skip?"  
  
Adam grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He even blushed.  
  
"Uhh about that...well...apparently Jack was supposed to be out all day but..."  
  
"He caught you and Vic again didn't he?"  
  
"Yup. But you should've seen his face mate! He was proper red like! I thought he was gonna explode! And then when I pointed it out to him he flipped out even more and tossed me out, ripped the knees on my school trousers and everything"  
  
Aaron peeked under the desk and saw two small rips on his knees and held in a laugh. This was what, the third time he had been caught skipping with Victoria? And it was all by Jack.  
  
"Ads, Moiras gonna kill you"  
  
"She already knows. Screamed at me and now I need to buy a new pair from my wages, wanna head into town with me after school? Obviously bring Robert. He can go in and buy us-"  
  
"Argh! You just want him to come along to buy you drink don't you?!"  
  
Adam shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't really care. As soon as Robert turned 18 recently, Adam was hinting to Aaron every single day that they could go out and buy drinks thanks to the older boyfriend.  
  
"Well that, and then I could help with your wedding planning..."  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes.  
  
"Adam, it's not real. It's fake. Someone's hacked Roberts Facebook didn't they"  
  
"Ah...well you better tell everyone else then. If they don't listen, just ignore them alright. And delete the Facebook as soon as possible. You know what rumours are like around here"  
  
"Pfft, don't I know it"  
  
.....  
  
After school, Adam did as he promised his mum and went straight to town to buy a new pair of school trousers. Seeing as school started back up a couple of months ago, it meant school stock in all the shops had disappeared. Aaron had dragged Robert along after texting him that he promised a McDonald's afterwards and Robert couldn't say no to food could he.  
  
Finally, Adam found a new pair of school trousers in Marks and Spencer's which were a tiny bit pricey but they seemed to be the only one around and straight after they all hopped to McDonald's. Robert and Aaron gave Adam the money to get their orders in since he dragged them all around the place today and they both went to get some seats. They found a booth upstairs and Aaron whipped out his phone and tapped on Roberts profile, looking at the insane amount of comments on Roberts engagement post.  
  
Robert nudged his foot over to Aarons, kicking him gently and he gave him a look.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Aaron switched off the phone immediately and looked up to face Robert.  
  
"Nothing"  
  
"So what were you looking at on your phone? Already ordering me a Christmas present in? Aw you shouldn't"  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes and switched the phone back on before showing Robert the post. He took it back and sighed.  
  
"Is it really so bad to be engaged to me?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I mean...I know we're still in school and stuff but...and we've only been together two years but...when Priya talked about the engagement you were all like...weird about it"  
  
"Yeah cause it wasn't a real engagement..."  
  
Aaron leaned back. Robert didn't seem to be getting what he was trying to say but then again, was he really about to have this serious conversation in McDonalds of all places?  
  
"Yeah I get that. But in the future, do you see us engaged? I dunno, do you see us together at least?"  
  
Robert widened his eyes, panicking and clearly getting the wrong end of the stick.  
  
"Shit, you're not breaking up with me right now are you?"  
  
"No! No! God no, I'm just asking if you see us in the future?"  
  
"Do you?"  
  
"Well I asked you first..."  
  
Robert crossed his arms, face relaxing when he realised Aaron was indeed not breaking up with him and he sighed.  
  
"Ok, well...I definitely see us in the future, we've definitely both got cars but admit it, I'll always have the better one"  
  
Aaron snorted.  
  
"And...well as I've planned, I'm a cool snazzy businessman and you can be...a really really hot...mechanic as you work through your university course....and we've got a dog called Olivia because I'm never letting you live down your secret one direction like and we're definitely planning the wedding too. Gazebo, fairy lights, basically Tumblr worthy but even better. So yes Aaron, I do see us together, in it for the long run"  
  
Aaron opened his mouth to say something and instead shut it and leaned over to kiss Robert. He would've kissed him longer had Adam not had any better timing. Adam stood there with the tray and widened his eyes.  
  
"Oi, knew yous just wanted me to get the food so yous can snog all day. Either save it for later or I'll join"  
  
Robert sat back down and gave Adam a look of disgust which frankly actually scared Adam for a second. Aaron took his food from the tray and chuckled at Adam. The poor boy was always trying to impress Robert just so he could get a better relationship with him and his little sister but Robert being the overprotective big brother he was, was probably never going to fall succumb to Adams lack of charm.  
  
Robert held up his burger and peeled back the top bun before looking around the tray to find tomato sauce. There was none.  
  
"Adam, did you get the tomato sauce?"  
  
Adam immediately jumped to his feet with a promise of bringing sauce back and rushed over to the condiments. Aaron glared at Robert only for Robert to give him a look as if to say 'what?'  
  
Aaron shook his head and took a bite of his burger.  
  
"You're a terrible person sometimes..."  
  
"Oh come on, it's harmless, don't lie, you find it funny too"  
  
Aarons grin said it all.

.........................................................

 

**7th May- Thursday**

.

.

.  
  
  
"So...someone's hacked your Facebook then?"  
  
Robert groaned and rubbed his temples. It was thursday and people were still going on and on about this stupid fake engagement. Chas being one of them especially. She had found it out from local gossip and gave Robert a bowl of frosties as he waited for Aaron to finish getting ready for school.  
  
"Yes Chas, for the last time, I was hacked. It's not real. Besides, don't I need like your blessing or summat to ask for Aaron's hand in marriage?"  
  
She put a hand over her heart.  
  
"Robert Sugden, you traditional old charmer..."  
  
She walked away with a smile and bumped into Aaron who rushed into the kitchen to grab his own bowl of cereal. He scoffed it down and paused when he heard his mother humming a song upstairs.  
  
"God, Rob, what did you say to mum this time?"  
  
"Uhh, what makes you think I've said summat?!"  
  
"Because she's actually humming, something she literally never does. Go on, tell me"  
  
Robert smiled as he ate a spoonful of frosties and wiped his chin with his blazer sleeve.  
  
"Just that if we were to get married, I'd definitely ask for your hand in marriage and get her blessing first. Then she's walked away saying how I'm a charmer"  
  
"You know mum's a sucker for you acting all...charming and stuff. Says it makes you a better person apparently..."  
  
Robert chuckled and when he heard Aaron begin to slurp down the remaining milk that his weetabix had been in, he grimaced.  
  
"Ugh, I hate when you do that"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Actually drink the milk at the end. And it's with Weetabix! That's like soggy socks in milk you're drinking!"  
  
"If you want, I could pour milk over my socks and shove it up your nose"  
  
Robert pretended to gag and Chas walked in with Aaron's dark purple gym bag.  
  
"Here love, nearly forgot it again..."  
  
She opened it and got a whiff of the unclean gym kit inside and she dropped it.  
  
"Aaron! This hasn't even been washed!"  
  
"Oops...umm maybe I should get a note telling me that i can't do gym today then?"  
  
She let out a sarcastic laugh and smacked him on the back of the head. Robert scoffed and laughed and Chas sighed.  
  
"Yeah good try Aaron. Looks like you'll need to do gym in dirty clothes today..."  
  
"Aw but mum, that's an embarrassment that is!"  
  
"Well in the future, give me your gym kit and I'll wash it then!"  
  
Aaron scowled at her in response.  
  
What a normal morning for the Dingle's household.  
  
....  
  
Turns out, everyone was still gossiping about their new fake engagement no matter how many times both Robert and Aaron had told them it wasn't real. He was hacked!  
  
But hey, teenage engagements were apparently adorable and every girl had fallen in love with the idea. Someone had even asked Robert for an invitation to which he replied in a sarcastic tone 'sure and I'll make you the godmother of my unborn triplets' she walked away embarrassed after that.  
  
No wonder though, nobody seemed to be listening to them and yeah sure, it was a small village and a small school but it didn't mean you had to gossip about the largest things around. It didn't mean you had to do this in order to-  
  
"I'm telling you, she wants me to be bullied or something. She literally wants me to come home with a punni or a black eye. Maybe she wants me to be suspended just so I can help her with cleaning the bogs in the pub or summat..."  
  
Ah yes. Aaron, who was still pissed off at his mum for making him go in with dirty gym kit. It wasn't even as if he could find another pair of shorts or something because the last time he cleaned his room was a couple of days ago and the rest of his shorts and stuff lay about on the bedroom floor stinking of bo. Robert should've known better, Aaron hated most of his teachers, his Maths one Mr Ferguson and his Gym teacher, Mr Woll who everyone was convinced was a paedo.  
  
Apparently last year, Mr Woll walked into the girls changing rooms just to get through to the storage cupboard.  
  
Ugh. Paedo.  
  
"To be fair, you could just...clean your room sometimes..."  
  
"Nah, that's why I got you isn't it?"  
  
"Oh yeah I almost forgot, I'm your personal maid. May as well buy me a feather duster and a kinky maid outfit to go with it"  
  
He accidentally said it loud enough that Victoria and Adam who was walking towards them, heard. Victoria scrunched her nose up, clearly getting the wrong idea of their conversation and her lips twitched downwards.  
  
"Ugh, I really don't wanna know about what the pair of yous do in bed. Keep it to yourselves yeah?"  
  
Robert blushed and Adam laughed. Aaron frowned.  
  
"We were being sarcastic. It's not like-you've just got a dirty mind! Adam tell your girlfriend to shut up"  
  
"Oi! Robert! Tell your boyfriend to shut up instead!"  
  
Robert pushed them apart as if he was breaking up a fight despite there not being an actual physical one and he sighed.  
  
"Yous are children, both of you..."  
  
When two girls walked by the four and stared at Aaron and Robert and walked away quickly, giggling, Adam grinned at the pair.  
  
"Yous two are still the gossip around here"  
  
Robert let out a deep breath. Yes. He knew that. Everyone wouldn't shut up about it. People were too gullible, just straight up gullible.  
  
"Yeah we are. And it's pissing me off..."  
  
Victoria put a hand on her brothers shoulder.  
  
"Just ignore them. They'll get tired of it soon enough...They'll only continue to annoy yous if you show a reaction towards them. Just pretend to be bored or something?"  
  
"Yeah well...I suppose..."  
  
The bell rang and Adam glanced towards Aaron. They had the same gym class right now and as soon as Aaron walked away with Adam, Robert could already hear Aaron's story of his cruel mother making him wear dirty clothes echoing down the hall. Robert laughed at them and Victoria walked upstairs to head to her music class. Robert had study period in the library so off he went there.  
  
The librarian was almost never in and Robert didn't see the point in it but apparently the guy was getting paid whether he came in or not. He found an empty table beside the computers and took out his business homework that was due after lunch. Unlike some other people, Robert actually studied. He wanted to prove his father wrong and make it to college, make it to university and become a smart businessman. He wanted to prove to his father that he just wasn't cut out for being a farmer and he wanted to prove it to Andy especially. The golden adopted boy...  
  
He finished up on his business homework which took half an hour to do and when he got a text from Victoria saying some girls in her class were asking to be invited to the wedding, he packed up his stuff with a sigh. He had 15 minutes left and had Physics next...may as well get a bottle of water from the cafeterias vending machine.  
  
On his way to the cafeteria, he couldn't help but stop and stare at the...the...blonde looking hippy girl...  
  
Was she new?  
  
She must've been. Robert didn't even know her and yet she already gave off the stereotypical blonde girl vibes. Probably smart, rich, lived off of daddy's money and got everything she wanted. Her designer handbag said it all anyway.  
  
She realised that Robert was staring at her and she awkwardly waved and walked over. She smiled and Robert knew she used some sort of product for her teeth because no-ones teeth should be that white, especially if you were in your teen years.  
  
"Hi...I'm a bit lost. Mind giving me a hand?"  
  
Ah. She was definitely foreign, almost sounded American actually. Still, he had 15 minutes to spare and he supposed that if a teacher saw him showing a new girl around, it would give him a better chance of receiving the pupil of the year award. He got it two years ago only for last year's award to go to Heather from second year.  
  
The more awards he received, the better it would look in his CV surely.  
  
"Yeah ok. Anywhere in mind?"  
  
She held out a slip of paper and smiled even wider.  
  
"The office maybe? I'm supposed to hand this in to discuss my uniform or something. Deliveries on my uniform got held back..."  
  
"Oh. Nice, so you get to wear...this...clothing instead for now? People are gonna be jealous for sure..."  
  
"Well, I don't like to think like that. Sorry, I'm Rebecca. Rebecca White"  
  
Robert smiled. Rebecca, truly sounded like a rich girls name...  
  
But why did the name 'White' ring a bell again?  
  
"Robert Sugden. Here, office is that way"  
  
He took Rebecca to the office and pointed to the window where the two office ladies sat on their computers.  
  
"Just there. They might tell you to go to the headteachers instead, she's nice though don't worry..."  
  
"Thank you Robert"  
  
She walked away to the window where she waited for the ladies to acknowledge her and Robert turned and found...a special someone sitting on the chair beside the deputy heads office in dirty gym kit holding an ice pack against his knee. He had his head facing the floor so he hadn't noticed Robert until Robert sat down beside him.  
  
"What the hell have you done to your knee?"  
  
Aaron removed the ice pack from his knee showing Robert the huge purple bruise and he winced when he pressed it back on.  
  
"Ahh, I tripped didn't I? Stupid flippin Mark kicked the ball at my feet and I went up in the air! I'm telling you, he's done it on purpose..."  
  
Robert smiled, knowing his boyfriend was most definitely exaggerating this story, especially with someone hitting his knee. He probably just tripped whilst kicking the ball about and refused to embarrass himself by admitting this instead.  
  
"You gonna be ok for footie on Sunday?"  
  
"Gonna have to be won't I? We've got a game coming up and I can't miss any practice. I miss one and they're gonna give my position to someone else"  
  
Robert took the ice pack from his hands and placed it properly over the purple bruise. Aaron had been pressing it against the area around the bruise, not on the actual bruise and Robert knew he wouldn't recover if he did it like that.  
  
"Oi, what you doing?"  
  
"Here, you didn't do it right"  
  
He placed the ice pack on the actual bruise itself and Aaron hissed and puffed his cheeks out before exhaling loudly.  
  
"Ahh! Do you mind? Tryna kill me or something?!"  
  
"I'm trying to help actually! Here, just hold it there"  
  
Robert grabbed onto Aaron's hands and guided them to the spot where he would need to hold on for the ice pack to not fall. He knocked his shoulders against his in silent thanks and Aaron only realised that Robert had turned up with some girl.  
  
Aaron looked up at the girl who was most definitely in an animated conversation with the office ladies and he almost glared at her. Jealousy was his weak spot most definitely.  
  
"So who's the hippy looking girl?"  
  
Robert shrugged.  
  
"Rebecca apparently. She's new, said her uniform hadn't arrived yet...oh fuck..."  
  
Robert only realised who she was. If she was who he thought she was...  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh god...Her second names White...oh fuck, if she's related to Chrissie I swear to-"  
  
"Chrissie as in...?"  
  
"Yes, that Chrissie. Oh god...if they're related I think I'm gonna go hang myself..."  
  
Aaron groaned and leaned in to Roberts side. He knew everything about Robert and Chrissies bad breakup. They went out with each other for five months and then she went all super crazy and controlling and Robert decided enough was enough and they split up. Chrissie posted non stop updates on Facebook like those stupid cheesy things girls post like...  
  
'Omg, I'll never need a man ever again'  
  
'Who needs men when we've all got ourselves?'  
  
'Hate men forever'  
  
'If he can't handle me at my worst then he'll never understand the true me...'  
  
Which was a clear dig towards Robert but hey ho, he didn't care. He just wanted to move on and move on he did.  
  
Aaron frowned at Rebecca, already feeling a surge of jealousy spike through him. Sure, he was gay himself but even he could see how pretty she was, how much time she dedicated to herself to make herself look pretty.  
  
Meanwhile Aaron had threatened to shove his feet up Roberts nose earlier this morning...that definitely was not attractive!  
  
He leaned in closer to Roberts side and Robert couldn't help but smile. God, Aaron being super jealous was many things except ugly. On Chrissie, it was ugly but on Aaron, it was cute and sweet.  
  
"Oi, you're not jealous are you?"  
  
Aaron hesitated and shook his head.  
  
"No..."  
  
"You're a terrible liar...don't be jealous you idiot. She's just a...well not even a friend. She's just new and I'm only sucking up to impress the teachers. Get awards and stuff"  
  
"Fine..."  
  
Rebecca walked towards them and Aaron leaned in even closer to Robert. He forgot about his sore knee and Robert only chuckled because of how ridiculous Aaron was being.  
  
"Hi, Robert isn't it? Thank you again. They said I could choose either the head or a student to show me around...apparently the head is busy though so...?"  
  
"You want me to show you around? Sure, no problem..."  
  
He stood up and was about to leave, much to Aaron's disappointment, when the bell rang and Robert leaned over towards Aaron and kissed the top of his head.  
  
"Can you tell the office to call my physics class and I'll grab your stuff from the changing rooms?"  
  
Aaron nodded, blushing and secretly happy that Robert had kissed him in front of Rebecca. If that wasn't a clear hint enough then it sure was now.  
  
"Yeah ok"  
  
"Right see you later then. Bye!"  
  
Aaron waved in response.  
  
Whilst Robert showed Rebecca around her classes that were labelled on her timetable, Rebecca started to strike up a conversation.  
  
"So...you and him-"  
  
"Aaron"  
  
"Yeah, Aaron. Sorry. How long have you both been together?"  
  
"Two years. Nearly three. Why?"  
  
Rebecca smiled.  
  
"No, no! Nothing bad or anything, just...it's nice to see a gay couple so open and happy. In my old school, if you were gay, you'd be bullied instantly. Everyone had to hide their true selves..."  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry...sounds like you went to a shitty school, no offence"  
  
"None taken. It's why we moved here. My dad's got a job here and I was staying with my aunt in America but my sister said it's more peaceful here so here I am!"  
  
Ahh...the sister....Robert just had to know.  
  
"Sister? Who is...please don't tell me Chrissies your sister..."  
  
"She is. How do you know?"  
  
"She's my ex?"  
  
Rebecca nodded and then turned a cold shoulder on him instantly. Sisterly or sibling love really was better than a romantic relationship.  
  
"Ok. Well thanks Robert, but I'm gonna find my own way around now. Thanks for the help"  
  
Jesus christ, talk about a major personality change straight away...  
  
Robert only nodded and waved and watched her head away somewhere else. He had shown her a majority of the classes so it didn't seem as if she would be lost at all...  
  
Still, he turned and walked downstairs to pick up Aaron's stuff in the changing rooms and stuffed them all into his Gym bag. He hoisted Aaron's gym bag onto his shoulders and walked back upstairs to the office when his phone vibrated and he took it out to check on it. It was from an unknown number and it said....  
  
'CHEATER'  
  
What the hell? Maybe this person had sent it to the wrong person. He hadnt cheated on Aaron, don't be so stupid, he loved Aaron, why would he do that? But still...he still felt a little uneasy...

.......................................................

 

**8th May- Friday**

.

.

.  
  
  
"Oh please tell me Chas was an angel and packed an extra sandwich..."  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes and opened the rest of his packed lunch to show Robert the extra sandwich indeed. Robert usually had his own packed lunch but with the amount of crap in his bag, the books always ended up squishing his sandwiches. A tub would be helpful, yes, if Victoria stopped taking them out the house for home-economics and then Andy would be the first person up to put his own sandwiches in and of course his dad took lunch with him to work. Which left none for Robert.  
  
He did have jam sandwiches today but his physics book had squished it and the bottom was covered in the spread itself. He knew his physics teacher was gonna kill him. Chas however, with Aaron's request, always made an extra two sandwiches for Robert just incase the boy with bad luck suffered from this exact problem today.  
  
He took one out of Aaron's box and dug into his schoolbag to take out a can of cream soda and handed it over to Aaron.  
  
"Here, trade this for a sandwich. Dad still thinks I'm five apparently and I still love cream soda..."  
  
Aaron took it with appreciation and chuckled at that. It was true that Jack had kept on giving Robert a can of cream soda everyday no matter how many times Robert had told him he wasn't a fan of the sweet drink anymore. He loved it as a child and that was the only thing he would drink and Jack remembered that, but now he forgot Robert hated it. Aaron liked it though, so he got all of Roberts cans.  
  
Robert took a bite of the sandwich and nearly moaned in delight. He had skipped breakfast today and that was definitely something he had never done because breakfast was his fuel for the entire day. But he had to skip because the fridge had cut out during the night and the ham had gone off as well as the milk and Robert would never have dry cereal. Yuck.  
  
"Starving?"  
  
Robert nodded and spoke with his mouth still full of the sandwich.  
  
"You have no idea..."  
  
Aaron teased him and nudged his side with his elbow before looking at Adam who just joined them right there.  
  
"This one loves his food doesn't he?"  
  
Adam widened his eyes, suddenly remembering something and set his tray down. Unlike Aaron and Robert who preferred their own homemade lunches, Adam actually liked the schools poor excuse of food.  
  
"Here, if yous two had to choose between food or sex, what would you give up? Yes, I am using friends to ask an important question!"  
  
Robert opened his mouth to speak when Adam suddenly let out a loud laugh, not letting them answer and he clapped his hands together. Apparently this joke he hadn't even said yet was hilarious...  
  
"Oh! I could so imagine yous like using food during sex or summat! Especially with your maid kink!"  
  
Robert smacked his foot into Adams underneath the table making the younger boy clutch it in pain. Aaron glared at Adam and opened his can, the bubbles fizzing over the top of the metal.  
  
"Adam, why you even imagining us having sex anyways? Got something to tell us?"  
  
Adam waved his hands in front of him, now feeling embarrassed for even asking such a question and he shook his head frantically.  
  
"No! No! No, I ain't gay! I'm with Vic!"  
  
Robert smirked.  
  
"Maybe I should tell Victoria about your weird fantasies hmm?"  
  
"Oh shut up! They're not fantasies!"  
  
Aaron gave Robert a high five in achievement for making Adam shut up and actually feel embarrassed for once and Adam rolled his eyes. He unwrapped the cafeterias disgusting chicken wrap that looked like slime and looked up to find his girlfriend walking over with....who was that?  
  
Victoria smiled and sat down, the unknown girl sitting down beside her. Robert tensed up and Aaron noticed her as the weird hippy girl from yesterday. She wasn't wearing her usual hippy-like clothes and finally fit in with her school uniform. The school uniform was pretty basic really, dull and black and white. White shirt, black tie, black trousers or skirts, black shoes and black blazers, but they were for the students in their final year and Robert couldn't complain because it only added to his future fantasy of being a businessman.  
  
Still though, he sort of wished there was a limitation to all the girls who shoved their skirts up so high you could see their panties underneath. He wasn't interested, two buttons undone on his boyfriend was enough.  
  
"Hey! This is Rebecca! Rebecca, this is Adam, Aaron and oh, the stupid looking one is my brother Robert"  
  
She stuck her tongue out to him and Robert stuck his own tongue out to her with a loud dumb sounding 'uuhhh!'  
  
Rebecca smiled and set her tray down. She must have liked the cafeteria food after all, bleurgh!  
  
"Yeah, I've already met Robert. He showed me around and Aaron...I think you were sick or something?"  
  
Aaron shook his head.  
  
"Nah, just busted my knee playing football"  
  
"Oh! They have that here?! You dont look very big to be a football player though..."  
  
Robert raised an eyebrow because...was there a height limitation to partake in football? He thought it was only for rugb-oh.  
  
"Uhh...your from America right? It's...soccer here. Football is Rugby here"  
  
Rebecca blushed in embarrassment and Adam chuckled only for Victoria to elbow him with a look that said 'don't you dare do or say anything' and he went back to eating his wrap. They all ended up just sitting there in awkward silence for a few seconds until Victoria, ever the peacemaker and person to try and help everyone, clapped her hands together and leaned in close.  
  
"Ok, don't say I said anything but...I heard Ross Bartons getting suspended for apparently breaking into a teachers car. Maybe even expelled! Finns trying to make himself an alibi just so he won't actually get expelled though so..."  
  
She continued to rant on and on about this so called secret and Aaron briefly wondered how everyone would react to that. Hopefully everyone would start to focus on Ross and his troublesome ways just so he and Robert would stop being the centre of attention. Speaking of which...  
  
Robert had hardly spoken a word as soon as Rebecca sat down and maybe he was just paranoid but he swore Rebecca kept sending Robert a bunch of looks, whether they were flirty, lustful or maybe she was annoyed at him, who knew? All Aaron could get into his skull was Rebecca and her stupid rich looking pretty face staring at his boyfriend, his boyfriend who was bisexual and...and it meant he was attracted to other women too...  
  
So would Robert leave him for Rebecca?  
  
Hopefully not...  
  
Aaron reached down underneath the table and laced his fingers with Roberts, squeezing gently. Robert squeezed back and sent him a silent smile and it felt...normal again. Not that other times when they held hands weren't normal, but sitting in awkward silence and because there was this new person in their group now, made it feel...less normal.  
  
Robert felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he had to let go of Aaron's hand to get it because it was sitting on the inside of his blazer. He switched it on to be met with a picture of him and Aaron mocking all the girls in the world by pulling their worst pouts in the world and swiped right and it unlocked. He never needed a passcode for his phone, never saw the need to. It wasn't as if he had anything to hide on it and all the nudes were on Aaron's phone. Difference was, Aaron actually had a passcode on his phone.  
  
When he saw what his phone displayed as soon as he unlocked it, he wasn't happy.  
  
Because there was another text from the same unknown number calling him once again, a cheater.  
  
Seriously? Again? Who the hell was doing this?  
  
Robert switched off his phone before anybody could see and looked around the busy cafeteria to try and see who was sending him these ridiculous texts. His stupid mind thought it was Rebecca herself since she had a phone out but as soon as Victoria pointed and said that the guy in the picture looked cute, he knew it wasn't her. Then his mind went on to Chrissie, the ex and Rebecca's sister. He didn't start getting these texts until Rebecca showed up so...maybe it was her?  
  
Except when he looked over at Chrissie, she was happily running her hand up and down Andy's arms, clearly and pathetically flirting with him. No. This was stupid, so so stupid. Someone was doing this as a harmless prank, maybe Ross? But someone was clearly doing it to annoy him and you know what? He wasn't going to let it get to him..  
  
Nope. Not at all.  
  
He shoved his phone inside his blazer pocket and could feel it vibrate another two times before Aaron laced his hands into Roberts. Robert knew what the texts said already and he didn't need to look at it. Fine, if they were calling him a cheater, he would just have to prove he's not a cheater.  
  
"Robert? Everything ok? I think your phone's going off..."  
  
Robert only nodded slightly before grinning and pulling Aaron in for a heavy kiss. It was probably a little too innapropiate for school but Robert had a point to prove dammit! He didn't fancy Rebecca, he fancied Aaron only, loved Aaron only. Aaron's face was comical when Robert pulled away, probably because he wasn't used to these kind of kisses in public but still.  
  
His cheeks were flushed red and lips were wet and parted ever so slightly. You could tell when Aaron was embarrassed because the tips of his ears would also shine ruby coloured and he would stutter afterwards. Adam snickered and Victoria scrunched her nose.  
  
"Robert? Mind keeping your bedtime activities for you know, in the bed? None of us want to see you shoving your tongue down Aaron's throat!"  
  
Robert smirked and squeezed Aaron's fingers.  
  
"Bet you're just jealous because you don't have the balls to kiss Adam in public"  
  
"Robert, I don't have any balls, I'm a girl duh!"  
  
"Duh!"  
  
....  
  
At the end of the day, Robert went about his usual routine, heading home first to shove his school uniform into the washing basket and then getting ready to head over to Aarons. He checked his phone, checking the texts he hadn't looked at earlier and saw that his assumptions were right. There were two more texts calling him a cheater.  
  
Maybe, just maybe his phone was kind of broke? He had had this phone for nearly an entire year and three months and Robert knew that was basically the lifespan of a typical Samsung.  
  
But...the chances of his own phone calling him a cheater was unlikely.  
  
This wasn't some paranormal shit after all.  
  
He grabbed his schoolbag and shoved in a fresh pair of boxers and after he had tied up his converse, he shouted at the front door that he was going to stay at Aarons and he went out and over to the pub.  
  
Technically he was allowed to drink since he was 18 an all, but he had homework and he also preferred to have a legal drink when Aaron wasn't near him. It wouldn't be fair to just flaunt the fact that he was allowed to drink and Aaron wasn't in his face. How rude would that be?  
  
Chas only pointed at the back and Robert waved to her before meeting Aaron upstairs in his bedroom. Aaron was tidying up his mess since his mum had yelled at him earlier to do so and when he noticed Robert was there, he jumped ten feet in the air.  
  
"Jesus Christ, you scared me. Don't do that you idiot"  
  
Robert set down his bag underneath Aaron's bed and moved to hug the smaller boy. He just held him in his arms until Aaron patted him awkwardly and smiled.  
  
"Not that I don't mind what we're doing but...whats got into you today? You're really touchy feely..."  
  
"I can't hug and kiss my boyfriend?"  
  
"No you can. I don't mind at all, just...it feels different..."  
  
Robert sighed. He knew he should tell him about the stupid texts but...He didn't want Aaron to worry.  
  
"It's nothing. I'm just tired, very very tired...got a lot of homework to do"  
  
"Ok well if that's all...then I'd like it if you would join me? In the shower? Because you know, you stink?"  
  
Robert pushed him away and shoved him playfully.  
  
"Shut up! I do not stink!"  
  
Aaron grinned.  
  
"Really? Well what's that smell? I think it's following me to the shower...oh! It is!"  
  
Aaron walked out the room and into the bathroom after grabbing a towel for him and Robert and Robert did as he was told, followed him in, making sure to lock the door behind them.  
  
After their much needed intimate shower, Robert had done his homework, Aaron had chosen to rest his knee for Sunday and Chas ordered a chippy since it was a Friday after all. After they ate their chippy, Aaron stuck on a film, not really paying much attention to it and ended up dozing off. Robert was ready to doze off aswell until he heard his phone vibrate beside them on the table and he groaned and picked it up. Aaron was facing him, so he didn't see what the text said, he could only see the back of Roberts phone.  
  
Robert checked it quickly, finding it was another two texts from the same stupid prankster calling him cheater cheater again. He was ready to switch it off when another one popped up this time, a new insult to add.  
  
Ugly Cheater.  
  
Huh. Good to know, he guessed....  
  
But still, now he was getting these stupid texts, he couldn't risk anyone seeing these because then it would just turn into some huge big deal and honestly he couldn't be bothered with that. So he went straight into his settings and for the first time ever, he set a passcode on it. He put it on silent and back on the table and Aaron frowned at being interrupted during his time with Robert.  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
"No one, wrong number"  
  
Aaron nodded, unconvinced but he played along anyway. He leaned forwards and squished the side of his face into the pillow he lay on and ran a finger up and down the slope of Roberts nose. He knew he liked that, liked the feeling of something so...so innocent and so sweet against his skin, even if it was just on his nose.  
  
"Robert...you sure everything is ok?"  
  
"Yeah? Course it is. Like I said, I'm just tired...you wait until next year and you'll be in your final year. You'll be way too tired to even acknowledge my presence"  
  
"As if. You're too distracting..."  
  
Robert grinned and felt his back begin to sweat and his t-shirt began to cling to his skin uncomfortably. The summer nights really did bring in a lot of heat, even with the window cracked open just a smidge. He sat up and peeled his t-shirt off, much to Aaron's happiness because who wouldn't like to see their boyfriend strip in front of them? Robert tossed it aside and lay back down, much cooler than moments ago.  
  
Aaron tapped his finger against Roberts stomach as he leaned in closer. It wasn't like what every girl wanted, like the whole six pack and ripped abs because Aaron personally didn't like it. What was actually attractive about having six squares on your stomach? You want shapes on your body then go get a tattoo or something. Simple. Instead, he was just a healthy weight, had a flat stomach with a tiny amount of pudge underneath his belly button and Aaron loved it. It was adorable. It was normal.  
  
Robert moved so Aaron's head wasn't digging into his right nipple and instead, Aaron's head leaned just over his heart, ears tickling his skin. Robert kissed Aaron's fluffy curly hair that he got if it wasnt gelled down and before he knew it he fell back asleep.  
  
He woke up when it was nearing three in the morning with his phone vibrating once again and suddenly, he was wide eyed and awake. He knew what this was already...  
  
Still, he checked it.  
  
Ugly Cheater!  
Only Cheaters are Ugly!  
Cheater cheater!  
Ugly Cheater!  
  
He switched it off fully and tried to go back to sleep.  
  
It didn't work.

.........................................................

 

 **9th May- Saturday**   
  
  
When Robert was woken up, he was getting poked and prodded at by his boyfriends stubby fingers. He still hadn't opened his eyes and Aaron grew impatient and instead, settled for a pillow to the face, attempting to probably suffocate his boyfriend.  
  
Robert managed to push it away with a loud and deep gasp and glared at Aaron.  
  
"Aaron! What the fu-uhh...you're dressed?"  
  
Aaron nodded and his eyes actually managed to look sad and Robert had no idea how he could do that but apparently he did. He made his eyes look sad and in general he just looked so so down right now. Robert began fixing his own hair that had spiked up on one side from where he slept and Aaron sighed.  
  
"I know it's our movie date today but...see, the coach was talking with everyone over the group chat apparently-"  
  
"The one you always keep on mute?"  
  
Aaron nodded and continued.  
  
"Yeah that one. And...everyone agreed to have it today because it's more beneficial apparently..."  
  
Ah. Robert could see where this was going...  
  
"Aaron, it's fine. We'll still make it a date today. I come watch you practice, you continue to play footy and it's a win-win for both of us isn't it?"  
  
Aaron sighed and leaned forwards to rest on Roberts lap. He leaned forwards and pressed a chaste kiss on the blondes lips and pulled away, still unhappy with their change of plans.  
  
"You sure you're ok with it?"  
  
"Yes. Promise. Look, it'll still be a fun day. Plus I've got a shit-ton of homework to do which I didn't get around to doing yesterday...thank you very much..."  
  
"I ain't apologising"  
  
"So this'll be the perfect opportunity for me to catch up. What time do you need to get there at anyways?"  
  
Aaron leaned forwards to grab his phone from underneath his pillow where he had planked it after reading the groupchat which was a bad mistake because Robert hissed in pain and pressed his forehead onto Aaron's shoulders hard.  
  
Aaron leaned back, worried immediately.  
  
"What the-what happened there?"  
  
"I think you accidentally put your knee on my..."  
  
Aaron looked down and shifted his knees so they were spread out and nowhere near Roberts morning problem. Hey, they were both teenage boys with raging hormones which meant morning problems nearly everyday. Robert let out a deep breath and gasped out a thank you to Aaron before Aaron kissed him quick and hopped off the bed.  
  
"Anyways, I need to be there in 20 minutes, but we're not actually properly practicing for another 45 minutes so take your time coming yeah?"  
  
Robert nodded and lay back down on the bed, ready to fall back asleep because dammit, it was barely past 10 in the morning. Who actually woke up at that time? The flippin Devil himself!  
  
Aaron shoved his pair of football boots into his bag and zipped it up when he finally got a proper look of Robert in the light. Did he even get any sleep last night?  
  
"Rob? You ok?"  
  
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Why?"  
  
"Just...you don't have to come watch me practice...if you want, you can catch up on your homework here, get a couple more hours of sleep?"  
  
Robert yawned and looked at the pillow as if he really was going to fall back asleep right there and then, however, instead, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and pulled his shorts up from the back.  
  
Nice.  
  
"Nah it's alright. Better to get up early isn't it? Besides, can't fall back asleep after waking up"  
  
Oh. So it was Aaron's fault Robert couldn't get back to sleep? Maybe he should have just left and snuck out while he had the chance, leave Robert to sleep more...god he was such an idiot...  
  
"I'm sorry...I'll get mum to do you a fry up yeah?"  
  
"This is why I love you. Tell her to make it extra greasy yeah?"  
  
Aaron let out a small laugh before waving to Robert and walked out. Once Robert heard his footsteps disappear downstairs, the small mumbling of chattering and then the back door slamming shut, Robert finally got up. He grabbed his phone first, glad to see no more of the insulting messages appearing on his screen or anymore sent last night.  
  
He really was going to tell Aaron about them, well he was planning for him to do it today whilst they watched a film but obviously that wasn't going to happen. Plan A? Down the drain already...geez...  
  
Maybe he could tell him after footy practice, just easily blurt it out whilst he was there and Aaron could give him some advice or something. He definitely wasn't planning on telling his sister because he knew she would make a huge deal out of it and probably involve the police or something and Andy was too stupid to remember what he had for breakfast nevermind give any advice about these. His dad would probably tell him to grow up and ignore them like everyone else probably did and act like a man. Give one of his usual 'back in my day we didn't have these stupid fancy phones' talk.  
  
Who cared? Nobody asked for your tragic backstory! We're talking about now! The now. The present!  
  
Of course, if Robert actually had the guts to shout that to his father he would...  
  
When he dressed himself and went into the bathroom to use the facilities and wash his face, he saw what Aaron might have been worried about earlier. The tiny black circles underneath his eyes.  
  
Funnily enough, Robert was just born with the natural ability to always have a clear face (it was his back thay suffered spots during puberty) and he was also born with the ability to get a good night's sleep. He had never properly stressed about anything except that one stupid maths test he couldn't seem to pass at all and even then, he hadn't lost any sleep over it.  
  
But to have lost sleep over a couple of stupid messages that spewed lies about him?  
  
And he knew, he knew very much that he could have just blocked the number, but he had a plan and it was to keep it unblocked so he could get a clue as to who it is. Besides, the messages weren't hurting him in anyway. They just called him a cheater and of course the new one, ugly.  
  
And Robert knew he wasn't ugly. He was pretty confident in his own appearance, glad that he was blessed with the classical 90s boy band blonde hair and the sparkling green blue eyes. His heart was pure as gold and he didn't really care about his weight, he never really looked much into it. All he knew was that he ate food whenever he was hungry and that was that. He never really stuck to a diet, usually had chips every single night with a bit of meat and then a side salad or something. But it didn't matter because he could eat as much as he wanted and didn't gain any weight.  
  
"Robert! Breakfast!"  
  
Speaking of food...  
  
Robert dashed downstairs to find a plate of, as promised, an extra greasy fry-up. He loved that because he came over here practically everyday that this had become his second home. He had a second mum to replace his own lost one, a second dad with a funny stutter and who had walked in on him and Aaron way too many times to count.  
  
Ugh.  
  
He cut his square sausage with the edge of his fork, not bothering to use a knife and he thanked Chas again with a mouth full of egg this time.  
  
"Mmm, Chas, you're a star..."  
  
She rolled her eyes but chuckled and Robert looked up at the clock. Chas saw where he was looking.  
  
"His games not until a while away aswell. Oh, also, I need your quick opinion on something"  
  
"Shoot"  
  
"I know Aarons birthday wasn't the best this year and money was tight but...I thought ...oh Paddy! Would you get these leaves out my face!"  
  
Paddy stuttered out an apology and moved the bouquet of flowers out of her face. He had been trying to find a vase for the past ten minutes but he had no such luck.  
  
"Anyways...what I was thinking...was that I've got a bit of money saved up, you're over here everyday...so I was going to put the money towards a bigger bed for him"  
  
"Like a double bed?"  
  
"Yes. Oh god, he won't like that won't he not? It's a stupid idea, I'll just-"  
  
"He'd like it. He's always complaining about the bed being too small for both of us anyways"  
  
She nodded and nodded her head over to the clock.  
  
"Were you up late last night? Only...actually ew, i don't wanna know"  
  
Robert rolled his eyes, knowing she was thinking he was up late for a more explicit reason. He knew she was referring to his slightly dark eyes and god, if two people had already pointed it out, surely everyone else was going to notice right away.  
  
"Chas, you got any of that makeup crap? The one where it covers your skin?"  
  
"Upstairs, in the bathroom cupboard under the sink, third drawer"  
  
"Ta"  
  
He did as instructed by opening the third drawer only to find it split in half with two items. One half was the black make-up bag and the other was enough to make him blush red.  
  
Why did Chas have to put sanitary towels in the same drawer. Eww...  
  
It was stupid because they weren't even used obviously, but he wiped off any imaginary germs he might have got on his fingers from them by wiping his hands on his jeans. He zipped open the make up bag and grabbed the only thing that looked like it could match his skin.  
  
A weird twisty concealer stick.  
  
It looked like lipstick actually, the way you could twist it and push it up and then just apply it on. He quickly did under his eyes and rubbed it in and shoved it back into the drawer with the bag and walked back downstairs.  
  
Chas gave him a green tub filled with sandwiches and she sighed.  
  
"Aaron forgot his lunch as per usual. I don't know if they all get something together but he's forgotten this so...and there's an extra sandwich for you if you feel peckish"  
  
"Right. Thanks"  
  
Robert grabbed his bag from upstairs before shoving the tub inside and said his goodbyes to Chas and Paddy who was still looking for a stupid vase. He made his way to the football practice which was always held on the primary school pitches. Robert saw the group of neon orange t-shirts running around and he moved to sit on a bench that faced the pitch and was out of the wind so he could probably get a bit of reading done.  
  
He opened his book, made sure to have a chewing gum because he forgot to brush his teeth and began his reading. English class wasn't his favourite with the seating plans because of all the people, it was Andy he had to sit beside. Andy who had somehow managed to pass his English exam and got moved up to higher English.  
  
Ok so he was reading...  
  
Great Expectations...  
  
Oh didn't this sound like a bundle of joy to read.  
  
Still, it had to be done.  
  
He probably picked the worst place to try and read because every time he would finish reading a paragraph, his mind would focus to the group down there practicing and suddenly it was as if they were louder than they had been when he was busy occupying himself by reading.  
  
He ended up leaving his book spread across his knees as he looked over to see if he could find Aaron. Aaron...nope, not him, not him, not him, not-there he is!  
  
He saw Aaron yell at someone before they passed the ball over to him and he swung his legs and smacked the ball into the goals only...the goalie ended up sticking his knee out and his knee deflected it right away. He watched Aaron shout in frustration and Robert noticed the huge chunky white bandage on Aaron's knee. The one where it was bruised from the other day.  
  
Did his coach do that? How nice.  
  
He watched Aaron stand up before he noticed Robert and he gave a small wave until someone shoved into him from the back. Aaron got right into the persons face and when Robert saw this slowly turn into a shoving match, he was debating to go down and tug him off only for the coach to walk by and pry them apart. He didn't even hold back in his strength, just shoved them both apart from each other before yelling at them both.  
  
Robert winced. He could hear the guy screaming from up here, poor Aaron and his eardrums...  
  
The coach must've told them to take a break or something because they all went over to their bags and took out their lunches. Aaron grabbed his bag after taking out his water bottle and walked over to the bench to sit beside Robert. Robert didn't expect the quick kiss Aaron gave him but hey ho, what the hell.  
  
Aaron grumbled and took a large gulp of his water before Robert pulled out his forgotten lunch.  
  
"Here, your mum said you forgot it. Who was that by the way?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The guy who shoved you?"  
  
"Oh, ignore him. He's called Paul, teases everyone in the group..."  
  
Aaron took a bite of his sandwich and even found a chocolate penguins biscuit tucked in the side. When he saw it was orange flavoured, he made a face of disgust and handed it to Robert who actually liked the orange flavoured treat.  
  
"Didn't look like he was teasing everyone...only you..."  
  
"Ok, fine, it's just me. He hates me! For...some reason? I dunno..."  
  
"Does he know you're gay?"  
  
Aaron looked away and Robert frowned.  
  
"Aaron!"  
  
"Robert, just leave it. Look, it's not a big deal so don't turn it into one. He's never actually said anything homophobic, it's all to do with football. He hates that I've got the attacker position and he's stuck being a midfielder"  
  
"Oh, so it's nothing to do with you being...?"  
  
"Gay? No"  
  
Robert mumbled an ok in response to that and took out his sandwich Chas sent him. He yawned and Aaron squinted his eyes when he leaned in to kiss Robert.  
  
"You wearing make-up?"  
  
Oh god, he noticed. Great. Just when he thought it was completely convincing...He wasn't a pro at blending in or whatever girls called it, but still.  
  
"No?"  
  
"You are. Where'd you get-wait, are you wearing my mum's makeup?"  
  
"It's just so I look a bit better, just to hide the bags..."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Aaron smirked and knocked his knee against his. Robert winced because damn, the chunky bandage was wrapped up and felt like a rock against his skinny jeans.  
  
"You interested in make-up now? Don't worry, I completely accept that you want to wea-ack!"  
  
Robert shoved Aaron's sandwich in his mouth, shutting him up and nearly choking him by doing so. Aaron shoved him and choked and pulled the bread out of his mouth with a glare.  
  
"Nearly fucking killed me there..."  
  
"Oh...it didn't work. Damn..."  
  
Aaron let out a breathy laugh and sighed, leaning in to Roberts side.  
  
"Shut up..."  
  
After their short 15 minute lunch, Aaron went straight back to practicing and Robert back to his reading. He got through three more chapters when he heard the final whistle and dog eared his page and shut his book back over. He packed up all his stuff while everyone who was practicing went to pack up their stuff and part ways to head home.  
  
Robert smiled when Aaron waved to him and began walking over. He nearly got close to Robert when the coach shouted for Aaron to come back and Aaron turned to head back with a huff. Roberts phone vibrated and he froze.  
  
Surely not another one...  
  
Sure enough it was...  
  
Cheater  
Fat ugly cheater  
You told Aaron yet? That you've cheated on him?  
Stupid fat cheater  
  
Robert scoffed and decided 'fuck it' this person was wasting their time by sending him these ridiculous messages, he might as well get a clue as to figure out who it was.  
  
Who is this?  
I'm not a cheater  
I've never cheated on Aaron  
Stop sending me these messages  
  
He smiled when they didn't send anything else for a few seconds until his phone vibrated again...  
  
Fat ugly cheater!  
Stupid fat cheater!  
Cheater!  
Stupid cheater!  
  
Robert was about to text them back, asking who it was again when Aaron patted his shoulder with a big smile.  
  
"Hey"  
  
Robert dove his phone deep into his pocket, hoping Aaron didn't see anything. Judging from his smile, it didn't look like he did. Aaron saw Robert quickly hide his phone and he furrowed his eyebrows.  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
"Uh, no-one, just dad, asking me to come help on the farm. I said no obviously..."  
  
Aaron made an oh sound, not quite believing Robert but agreeing anyway.  
  
"So what are you all smiley about? Coach say something?"  
  
And Aarons smile was back.  
  
"Yeah actually! He was talking to me about the tickets. You know how usually I can only get two? Well...this year, I'm able to get three, which means you can come this time!"  
  
Robert smiled at that and hugged Aaron.  
  
"Nice! When's the game again?"  
  
"27th July. You able to come?"  
  
"Yeah! Course I will, just wait, you'll see me, your mum and Paddy with our faces painted orange and we'll even hold one of those stupid banner things. Sound good?"  
  
Aaron groaned as if he had a stomach ache and facepalmed.  
  
"Please don't. Mum already painted her cheeks last year, gave me a right embarrassment in front of everyone"  
  
"Too late, already planned"  
  
"No Robert!"  
  
.....  
  
They ended up watching a movie later and Aaron did end up making the mistake of letting Robert pick a movie since Aaron had kind of ruined their date today. Robert reassured him that he didn't ruin it and to make Aaron 'happy' he stuck on Dirty Dancing.  
  
Aaron had no idea what it was about but he assumed it would be something like either really gorey or dirty and by dirty, he expected sex.  
  
Instead, what he got was some girl called baby with a huge ass afro and he swore he saw the exact same lady in Ferris Buellers day off. He had complained constantly during the film, always criticising the terrible acting they apparently had and that this had no plot whatsoever. Robert ended up giving him a fat kiss on the lips to shut him up for a few seconds.  
  
"Wait so who's Robbie?"  
  
Robert pointed at the screen.  
  
"Him"  
  
"And he's knocked up the tall lady?"  
  
"Yep"  
  
"And...shes not happy?"  
  
"Uhh..."  
  
"You dont even know the plot of the film either!"  
  
"It's a chick flick! Do you really expect me to actually pay full attention?! All I know is that they do that mad lift thing in the water!"  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes, complaining once again that Robert had shoved on yet another one of his silly girly movies. First, mean girls, second, Twilight that he didn't actually like, but they ended up laughing at every single scene. Robert had never laughed so hard in his entire life, especially with Aaron's impression of Bella and Edward.  
  
Despite Aaron being a completely 'mature' young seventeen year old boy, he liked to think he was perfectly fine seeing stupid scenes like grinding and stuff on television without thinking too much into it.  
  
But...Robert had definitely felt Aaron squirming about when the scene of all the poor people were dancing in their own secluded place quite...erotically came on. It took Aaron probably a bit longer than usual to finally get the gist of the movie and he let out a knowing sound.  
  
"Oh! So they're dancing and it's like-yeah I get it now! Why didn't you tell me this was it?"  
  
Robert shrugged his shoulders in response and bent his head over to kiss Aaron's shoulder. He wrapped his arms tighter around his torso and pulled him in.  
  
"You know I can dance like that?"  
  
Aaron scoffed.  
  
"Rob, no offense, you're a lot of things but you're not a good dancer"  
  
"I'm actually a really good dancer!"  
  
"Bullshit! You suck at trying to dan-"  
  
Chas's loud voice screamed out in the hallway as she passed by Aaron's door and she smacked the locked door on the other side twice.  
  
"Language!"  
  
She walked away and Aaron snickered before turning around and planting himself right on top of Robert, his favourite position to lean down and kiss Robert without either of them straining their necks.  
  
"Do you think...we could...use some of their dancing techniques right now?"  
  
"Aaron Dingle, did you seriously just ask to grind on me?"  
  
"Well...if you're suggesting it, yeah?"  
  
Robert pulled the smaller boy in for a kiss before flipping them over and Aaron let out a breathy laugh that mixed itself in with a gasp. Robert grabbed a hold of his boyfriends hands and squeezed.  
  
"I can't believe how embarrassed you still are about sex. Honestly Aaron...I thought I knew you"  
  
Robert loved to tease Aaron, especially if it meant he was able to receive an adorable squishy pink face in return. Still, he did as Aaron wished and dipped his hands underneath Aaron's shorts. Last time, Aaron had complained that Chas had apparently noticed the cum stained shorts and gave him a lecture.  
  
A lecture to take off his pants to make it easier to wash.  
  
It was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life.  
  
But right now, right here, if Robert did notice during the night that his stomach did stick out more than usual from underneath the covers, he ignored it, just like he did with the incoming texts. Just like he did with the feeling of wanting to be sick because he asked for that extra greasy fry-up earlier...

.........................................................

 

**10th May- Sunday**

.

.

.  
  
"You're really picking studying over me?"  
  
Robert frowned at Aaron, surprised he was even being this clingy. Only seconds ago they were arguing over who spent most of their time on their phones and Robert lost because his fell to five percent. So he left it on charge on Aaron's beside table and moved his things over to Aaron's desk to start studying. It was a Sunday after all and he didn't get much done yesterday.  
  
"Yes Aaron, I need to study. Look think about it in the long run, I study, get good grades and before you know it, we've got an apartment together in like Paris or something..."  
  
"Paris? Why Paris?"  
  
"Because it's supposed to be the most romantic city in the world isn't it? Duh"  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes with a smile and lay down on his stomach to flick through his television. There was literally only three channels that worked since his mum was bumming off paying the Television license and he ended up shoving a DVD in anyways. Again, during the night, he felt Robert moving about meaning he was struggling to sleep, again. The makeup Robert forgot to wipe off his eyes ended up smudged on Aarons pillow, making the blue and black stripey pillow have a huge smudge on the middle.  
  
Aaron wondered if Robert was going to put on more of his mum's makeup or if he was going to talk to him about his struggle of sleeping recently. Aaron decided to go on his own phone and start googling.  
  
If Robert wasn't going to tell him why he was having trouble sleeping then he had to Google it at least. He probably had more of a chance finding out why online rather than through Robert.  
  
'Why am I struggling to sleep?'  
  
Search.  
  
A billion results...nope.  
  
He was probably going to look at two websites and give up after that.  
  
Which is what he did. He clicked the first result and noticed it was the nhs website guiding him to read about insomnia and other sleeping disorders. He clicked on insomnia and quickly read through each bullet point carefully.  
  
God, he hadn't read this much since he was forced to read 'Of Mice and Men' in school last year. But apparently stress seemed to be the main cause as well as anxiety, guilt, depression, noise, uncomfortable beds...  
  
Personally, Aaron thought his bed was comfy and since Robert had been staying over for en entire year now, he assumed Robert was used to his small single bed. Sure it was a bit of a tight squeeze but Robert had reassured him a million times he didn't mind being Aaron's pillow, didn't mind the closeness between them. Maybe that was starting to change?  
  
"Robert?"  
  
Robert didn't turn around, only continued scribbling away on his notes. He hummed to Aaron's question and Aaron looked over to Roberts phone that had vibrated. He looked at the screen and saw a message from...an unknown number?  
  
Hey Robert, it's Rebecca. Victoria gave me your number by the way, just won......  
  
He couldn't see the rest of the message since the phone wasn't actually unlocked properly and Aaron narrowed his eyes. Why was Rebecca messaging Robert? Didn't she hate him because of Chrissie? Sisterly love an all that bull?  
  
"Aaron? What is it?"  
  
Robert still hadn't turned around which was probably good because he didn't want Robert to catch him looking at his messages. Think he was assuming Robert was up to things he wasn't. It wasn't Robert he was worried about, it was Rebecca.  
  
And his stupid brain wouldn't let the whole stupid Rebecca go.  
  
His phone vibrated with a new text message and Aaron quickly read the next one. He couldn't help it.  
  
Lol, meant to say Maths not baths 😂  
  
Robert turned around at that point and when he saw Aaron reading his messages, he shot up and grabbed his phone, unlocking it with his thumb and passcode. Aaron stuttered and leaned back onto the bed.  
  
"I wasn't reading them. Well I wa-it showed up on the screen. It's Rebecca"  
  
Robert calmed down at that and read the message Rebecca sent him. He sighed and thanked his tormentor for not sending him any messages while Aaron was reading them for whatever reason and sat down beside him on the bed.  
  
"Oh. Ok. No it's fine"  
  
"Right. Uhh...it's Rebecca then?"  
  
Robert nodded and typed out a response to Rebecca and pocketed his phone.  
  
"She needs help with maths apparently. Did it different in America. Mind if I leave early today?"  
  
"But it's our-"  
  
"No. I'm studying and you're watching a movie. I hardly call that a date..."  
  
Aaron crossed his arms and watched Robert pack up his stuff. He couldn't help but feel a wave of jealousy surge through him, unhappy with the fact that his boyfriend was actually leaving him to help someone else with their maths, especially Rebecca of all people. When Robert packed up the rest of his stuff, Aaron scoffed.  
  
"You're really going?"  
  
"Yes Aaron, I wanna try and get this award. Remember? Look, yesterday was our date and I'm technically supposed to be home in a couple of hours. I'll see you tomorrow yeah?"  
  
He leaned in to give Aaron a quick kiss on the cheek and left the room, dashed downstairs and exited through the back door without saying bye to Chas. Aaron walked downstairs into the kitchen were Chas was and grabbed a mug to prepare himself a cup of tea. She looked at the door and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Thought both of yous left. Robert already had to go home?"  
  
"Something like that"  
  
"Oh God, did yous have another tiff? Look, sometimes Aaron, you say some things you regret ok? But he'll-"  
  
Aaron held up his hand and scoffed.  
  
"Woah, woah hold on a second. Why you assuming I've done something?"  
  
"So it's Robert then?"  
  
"Kind of..."  
  
Chas tutted and opened the cupboard door to grab a chocolate biscuit to go with her tea. Bourbons were the best.  
  
"Aaron, tell me. Or I'm gonna go over there and strangle him until he opens his little mouth!"  
  
"Ok! Ok...do...do you think Roberts starting to get...a little bored with me?"  
  
"Bored? Love, what the hell are you on about?"  
  
"He's...I dunno, he just acts like he's starting to get bored of me..."  
  
Chas sighed and rubbed her sons back. She hated seeing him like this and he hardly ever was in a bad mood ever since being with Robert. He was a troublesome kid, yes, like every other spoiled little boy, but now he had a boyfriend and he was doing decent enough in school, he never really had down days.  
  
Especially if they were about Robert.  
  
"Aaron, I've seen a lot of teenage relationships and I swear, none of them have lasted as long as you and Robert have. You're only seventeen love, Roberts not going to be bored of you. You start worrying about that when you're in your fifties, alright?"  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah! Definitely! Look, if this...thing is still happening between you and Robert, talk to him about it ok? There's nothing better than a healthy relationship than talking about stuff. Communication is key, ok?"  
  
Aaron nodded and turned around to wipe his eyes. Chas rolled hers and pretended to not have caught Aaron nearly welling up with tears, supporting his 'totally manly' act he put up in front of her. She gave him one last piece of advice before Aaron shoved a teabag into his mug though.  
  
"Aaron? Don't let jealousy shield what you actually see in front of your eyes, alright?"  
  
"Yeah? Yeah, sure...?"  
  
Aaron just wondered what the hell she was getting at there.  
  
.....  
  
He went straight back to researching insomnia, even did a quiz that popped up as he pretended to fall into Roberts mindstate. He answered questions like having an average sleep quality, it's somewhat affected his mood, somewhat affected his concentration...  
  
Yes he was clearly exaggerating, but Aaron knew how these stupid tests worked. If you pressed the first answer everytime, it would tell you everything was perfect apparently and Aaron knew Robert wasn't having a good night sleep.  
  
Ok, calculating....calculating....  
  
A good sleep score?!  
  
  
  
Your sleep score is OK but some of the answers you have given indicate that you're experiencing a few symptoms of insomnia. Episodes of insomnia are common, in fact, it's estimated that a third of us will struggle with it at some time in our lives.   
There are various things you can do to help you get to sleep. This is often referred to as 'good sleep hygiene'. For example:  
• avoid caffeine later in the day  
• avoid alcohol as this is known to disturb sleep  
• avoid heavy meals late at night  
• stick to regular times to go to bed and get up  
• use thick curtains, blinds or an eye mask to stop you being woken up by light  
• try earplugs to stop any noise disturbing you  
• try taking a warm bath an hour before you go to bed  
• try listening to calming music or reading a book  
• avoid watching TV or using mobile devices in the bedroom  
  
  
Bullshit!  
  
No alcohol, no coffee, you may as well jump off a bridge to get a decent nights sleep! Heavy meals? Unheard of with Robert, he loved his food.  
  
But the curtain idea sounded alright...  
  
"Mum?!"  
  
....  
  
He found her standing at the bar serving a huge crowd of men and of course Aaron chose her busiest time to ask her pointless questions.  
  
"Mum?"  
  
"Yeah, one second Aaron, I'm busy. What was that, a pint? Ok...Aaron, I said I'm busy..."  
  
"Mum can I get a bigger bed? Or new curtains? I need like thick ones that hide the sun and stuff..."  
  
She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What are you on about now? Yes love, I'll be with you in a minute!"  
  
"Mum? Can I? New curtains apparently help you sleep or something..."  
  
"Aaron I'm just-Salt and Vinegar crisps? Yeah sure! Aaron pass me-"  
  
Aaron stood there with a packet of salt and vinegar and it was as if she just noticed him standing there. She took the crisps and handed it to the woman before taking her money and she nodded.  
  
"Ok, but you're gonna need to go buy them. Here, Argos catalogues upstairs in my room. Write down the number and you can go tomorrow after school yeah?"  
  
"Ta mum!"  
  
He did as he was told and found the Argos catalogue before picking out a dark grey one. It even said it was a thermal blackout special one and even though it looked a bit big, he knew he could just cut it himself or something, get his mum to sew the edges. Or even Vic! She was great at sewing the holes in Adams hoodies!  
  
Plus this was only seventeen pounds!  
  
Oh god...time to really turn on the charm. Hopefully she would fall for his Roger Rabbit 'prrrwwwwease?' act.  
  
When he went back downstairs, he found the busy crowd of men had all disappeared and his mum finished serving an elderly man with a grey suit on. Posh twat.  
  
Oh! Maybe she couldn't say no in front of the man!  
  
"Mum? The curtains cost seventeen quid. Can I get seventeen quid?"  
  
She scoffed.  
  
"With your school money added on top? Dream on kid..."  
  
She took the money from the posh twat and thanked him before turning back to her son.  
  
"Look, I know you want these curtains for...some reason, but Aaron, I can't afford to give you twenty pounds school money and then seventeen on top of it. If you do want money, start earning it. You're eighteen next year aren't you? So...why don't you make a start on cleaning the toilets? Yeah?"  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"Yeah! You want seventeen quid or not?"  
  
Aaron glanced over at the bucket that sat neglected at the back and grimaced before letting his teenager anger wash over him.  
  
"This is child slavery it is! Abuse even!"  
  
She only smirked.  
  
"Well if you don't want those curtains..."  
  
"I'm doing it!"  
  
.......  
  
"Nah, she straight up made me clean the toilets! How much of a witch is she?! Honestly..."  
  
Aaron paused his rant to spit out the toothpaste into the sink. It was nearing 10 at night and he had just got his shower for school tomorrow. Robert ended up calling him and he left him on speakerphone on the sink. It sounded like Robert was doing the same on the other end.  
  
"Aaron, she's doing what any other mother does....but I think we're missing the real point..."  
  
"Which is...?"  
  
He heard a snicker and then Robert laughed.  
  
"You actually cleaned the ladies toilets!"  
  
"Oi! Quit laughing at that! I had to empty the bins and one of their mad nappy things touched my hand! Bleuh! I was actually gonna be sick! It had blood and everything-i can't...I'm never doing it again..."  
  
Robert laughed again and then yawned and Aaron began dressing himself.  
  
"So...did your study thing with Rebecca go well?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh yeah. She needs a bit more help though, but she's a quick learner. Don't worry, I'm sticking it to the study classes in school so it doesn't clash with our dates"  
  
Good, so Robert did think of him after all...maybe he wasn't getting bored. His mum was right. He heard a door open on Roberts end and knew he was done with his shower or bath, whatever he usually preferred and then heard Robert walking about.  
  
"Oh! Ok! Well...uhh...good luck?"  
  
"I need it. I'm still behind on my physics thanks to her..."  
  
"I would help but you know, it is your fault you've picked physics in the first place..."  
  
"True. But I mean-Vic? What do you want? It's just Aaron...no I ain't lying to dad. He already hates me enough as it is! Yeah-one second. Aaron, I've gotta go. Text me later yeah?"  
  
"Oh, yeah yeah sure. Bye"  
  
"Bye!"  
  
With that, Robert hung up and turned to his sister who had stormed into his room for no reason. He lay down on top of his bed lazily when she began her ranting. She claimed she wanted Robert to lie about her whereabouts so she could stay over at Adams which meant...come on...no way was he going to lie to his dad about that.  
  
"No Vic. You want to stay at Adams? Ask dad, simple as that..."  
  
"No fair! You stay at Aarons all the time!"  
  
"Because believe it or not, both of us don't risk getting pregnant so we're fine. Unless you're staying at a girls, that's fine and you obviously make school the next day, but I ain't lying to dad just so you can go shag Adam"  
  
Ugh. He actually shivered saying that.  
  
Victoria blushed red and refused to make eye contact with her brother. It honestly surprised her at times how blunt he could be with her.  
  
"I'm not just-come on Robert, I'll give you a fiver!"  
  
Robert sat up at that and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Twenty"  
  
"I'm not giving you twenty! Seven?"  
  
"Twenty-two"  
  
She scoffed.  
  
"You're going higher!"  
  
"Exactly. Vic, get out already will you?"  
  
When she didn't move, Robert smirked and cupped a hand around his mouth.  
  
"DAD!"  
  
They waited a couple of seconds for Jack to shout back and he did.  
  
"VICTORIA! GET OUT YOUR BROTHERS ROOM!"  
  
She ended up storming out, slammed the door and switched off his bedroom light on the way because...apparently that was supposed to annoy him or something?  
  
Robert grinned and pulled the covers down to get into bed. He heard his phone vibrate and remembered he was supposed to text Aaron probably about now and he checked it quickly.  
  
It wasn't Aaron.  
  
Cheater  
Ugly  
Fat and stupid  
Fat cheater  
Everyone hates u  
Pathetic and fat  
Ugly  
Hope u die  
  
God, they just went on and on...  
  
But the last one...  
  
Someone really hated him this much that...they wanted him dead?

...............................................................

 

**11th May- Monday**

.

.

.  
  
Aaron poked Robert with his finger on the shoulder from behind and gained his attention. He knew Robert had study class in the library and he had asked his teacher to go to the toilet. Perfect plan.  
  
Robert however, looked surprised to see him.  
  
"Hey! Hi, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Said I needed the toilet. Anyways, I forgot to ask, after school do you wanna go to town? I need to buy curtains"  
  
"Since when do you do shopping for curtains? Did your blinds break?"  
  
"No! I thought I could get it for us? Help us sleep more, yeah?"  
  
Robert crossed his arms, unhappy with this answer. He had told Aaron plenty of times to quit getting on his case about sleeping and now he was buying special curtains? Why couldn't he just let it go already?  
  
"You having trouble sleeping? Or is this another way to ask me yet again how many hours of sleep am I getting?"  
  
Aaron frowned. Great, now Robert was snapping at him for no reason whatsoever. He just wanted to help! Robert was hiding something...why couldn't he just tell him already?  
  
"No actually. Well I wouldn't have to if you actually talked to me? Told me the truth? You're still having trouble sleeping and I googled online and found out that maybe...you have insomnia..."  
  
Robert let out a disbelieving laugh and Aaron pulled his phone out the front of his school shirt pocket. He went onto Google and showed Robert his research and began listing out everything on the bullet points.  
  
"Look Rob, it's saying stuff that can cause it like stress or guilt or even the noise or temperature of the room? If any of this is the reason then we can fix that!"  
  
Robert waited until his boyfriend was finished with his rant and he finally got a chance to speak. He shook his head.  
  
"Don't you think you're overreacting? It's been what, two days and you're fussing like a little girl. Aaron, I'm fine. Do me a favour and just drop it will you?"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Just drop it!"  
  
Aaron glared at him and huffed and turned on his feet and shouted a loud 'fine!' to the empty library and slammed the door on his way out. Aaron walked downstairs and passed by a familiar blonde and watched her head up into the library.  
  
Where Robert was...  
  
He really was getting bored of Aaron wasn't he?  
  
At lunch, Victoria could easily sense something had happened between Aaron and Robert because...well for once in their lives, they weren't even talking properly. Robert was glued to his phone scrolling through...something anyways and the way he held it up made sure nobody could see what he was reading. Whatever it was, it seemed to be interesting as it stuck in his head. Maybe he was reading about the recent terrorist attack in Spain? Their gran did still live there, even if she thought Robert was still eight years old.  
  
Aaron was eating lunch whilst his phone was laying flat on the table for everyone to see. He was scrolling through Instagram, liking gamer youtubers posts and celebrities posts. She even caught him staring at a photo of...what the hell, was that Patrick Swayze?  
  
She said nothing...  
  
But she did nudge Adam to get him to say something. He cleared his throat and kicked Aaron's ankle accidentally making him shout out in pain and glare at him.  
  
"Adam! The hell was that for?!"  
  
"Sorry! Sorry! It's an accident man, calm down! Uhh...so...? What's up with the silence? Hmm?"  
  
Aaron peeked over to Robert from the corner of his eye and scoffed.  
  
"Dunno. Ask him, he's the one who prefers blonde bimbos anyways..."  
  
Robert narrowed his eyes and switched off his phone before turning to face Aaron.  
  
"And what's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Oh, do I need to spell it out? Rebecca White. There you go"  
  
"Are you seriously pissed off because I won't get flippin curtains with you after school? Grow up Aaron, honestly..."  
  
Aaron opened his mouth to say something back when a rough hand shoved his shoulders, pushing him forwards slightly and a cruel laugh rung out. Victoria and Adam glared at the boy and Aaron turned his head to look at who it was.  
  
"Yeah Aaron, grow up and stop being such a whiney princess will you?"  
  
Aaron gave him the middle finger.  
  
"Oh fuck off Ross. Don't you have any more cars to nick?"  
  
"Says you, this whole argument was funny to listen to! Apparently you're the one bleating like a girl cause you wanna buy a pair of curtains or summat? Richard, you already moving in with him? How cute...."  
  
Robert rolled his eyes.  
  
"You know it's Robert. Go away Ross, we're already bored of you"  
  
Ross scoffed and went to sit down beside Aaron, obviously to just annoy him more. However, Aaron lifted a leg up and bent his knee to cover the remaining space and glared at Ross.  
  
"Seriously Ross, piss off"  
  
Ross held his hands up in defense.  
  
"Alright, alright...don't get your little pretty panties in a twist. Richard, looks like you're gonna need to take them off him..."  
  
Ross couldn't continue with his insult because he burst out laughing and when he gasped and took a deep breath, he continued.  
  
"Get it? Because he's so uptight and definitely wears girly underwear..."  
  
Aaron couldn't help it, but he knew this would tick off Ross.  
  
"Funny, I didn't hear any complaints from Finn when he was taking off my girly underwear"  
  
And Adam laughing really rubbed the salt in Ross' wound, it rubbed and fucking stepped on it until Victoria smacked his shoulder for laughing at this.  
  
And then everything went to hell.  
  
Because Ross lunged for Aaron, tackling him down to the floor as he started throwing punches to the slightly smaller boy. Aaron didn't care about height, just punched and hit back with grunts, not holding anything back because fuck it, Ross didn't seem to be holding anything back either.  
  
Robert tried to grab Aaron off of Ross and he did succeed for a couple of seconds until Aaron lunged for Ross again and proceeded with his fighting. Ross ended up elbowing his cheek and Aaron ended up lying right on top of him, using his knees to pin Ross' legs down as best as he could.  
  
Everyone from the cafeteria ran into a circle, watching Aaron and Ross fight whilst chanting the word 'fight! Fight! Fight!' over and over again. A teacher did try and make their way through but that was impossible.  
  
Aaron felt something drip from his lip and Ross felt like his eye was trying to close in on itself.  
  
Robert finally managed to grab a hold of Aaron as tight as he could. Being taller and broader than his boyfriend had advantages he supposed, strength being one of those.  
  
But he still would never challenge him in an actual fist fight.  
  
Finally, the authorities arrived, and by authorities, they meant the teachers. Along with the head teacher. Miss Grant.  
  
And Aaron was still struggling in his boyfriends hold. Everyone stopped their chanting when the head teacher pushed her way through and she pointed at the four of them, Robert holding Aaron and Finn with a hand on Ross' shoulder. Aaron squirmed about and Robert gripped onto him tighter and quietly hissed into his ear.  
  
"Aaron! Fucking stop!"  
  
"Boys! My office! Now!"  
  
.....  
  
Aaron ended up with an ice pack for his lip as well as a couple of wet tissues and Ross refused to take any ice packs for his eye because...isn't that what teenagers do when they're pissed off at adults?  
  
Aaron wanted to do the same but after Robert sent him that specific look, he took the tissues and ice pack and slapped it on. Ross got called in to the office to speak with Miss Grant and Robert looked at his homework diary with his timetable inside. He huffed and Aaron rolled his eyes.  
  
"Missing your precious study time with Rebecca?"  
  
Robert sent him an ugly scowl.  
  
"Oh my-would you stop already? She's a friend Aaron! Get that into your thick skull already will you?!"  
  
Aaron removed the ice pack to talk when Robert gently placed it back on his lip.  
  
"Keep it on. It'll swell up if you don't. Look, we'll talk about it later yeah? But right now, all I'm saying is that Rebecca's a friend. Has...Has anyone been telling you something else?"  
  
He had been accused of being a cheater over the crazy text messages so...had someone said something to Aaron? The same person who has been sending him these messages? He could find out who it was!  
  
But when Aaron shook his head, he made an oh sound and let it go. Aaron pulled the ice pack away slightly and sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm just being stupid and jealous...definitely deserve being called a dick..."  
  
"No you don't. Look, me and Rebecca are just friends-"  
  
"But you like girls aswell don't you? And she's rich and I'm not and I can see she's probably well fit"  
  
Robert hovered his hand over the ice pack, pushing it harder against Aaron's bleeding lip since he wasn't doing it properly and he sighed.  
  
"Aaron, I'm bisexual. I'm gonna find girls attractive, doesn't mean I'm gonna act on it alright? So don't use my sexuality as your fear for me cheating on you when it's never gonna happen...Look if it pisses you off that much, I'll stop helping out a random girl with her maths..."  
  
He knew he was slightly guilt tripping Aaron with his choice of words but he didn't know what else to say to get Aaron to understand. He didn't want to come off as someone who was...bored of him! If anything, it was the opposite!  
  
Robert phone vibrated and he took it out and saw it was from the unknown bully. Another string of texts calling him fat and ugly and a cheater and stupid and hoping he would die...  
  
He still didn't listen to these texts, but...he did notice himself in the mirror the other night when showering that he had put on an extra couple kilograms. He weighed 13 stone exactly and despite what Aaron said about his height being a major factor in his weight, he didn't believe it. Aaron wasn't that smaller than him and yet he was light as a feather.  
  
So if he did skip his usual large breakfast for one of Andy's healthy cereal bars, so what?  
  
But he knew he needed to tell Aaron about these texts...  
  
"So who's texting you then?"  
  
Robert looked at Aaron and then switched off his phone as if this was an instinct now.  
  
"It's...ok, I haven't been honest. Its this number tha-"  
  
"Aaron Dingle?"  
  
Robert tucked his phone in his blazer pocket to hide it from the headteacher and Aaron stood up and walked in. He turned to shut the door and mouthed to Robert.  
  
'Help me'  
  
Robert had to suffer going through an entire fifteen minutes with Ross glaring at him from across the room since he sat beside the office window. He took out his phone and decided to pass the time with geometry dash, hoping this would pass by quickly.  
  
Aaron left the office fifteen minutes later and Ross went inside to tell his part of the story. As soon as Aaron sat down, Robert raised an eyebrow.  
  
"So? What happened?"  
  
Aaron exhaled.  
  
"I'm suspended for two days. And she called mum. She's on her way down to get me"  
  
"Shit...I'm sorry...did you even tell her that Ross was the one who-"  
  
"Yeah. I told her everything. He's getting suspended too...his crazy mum's coming down to get him"  
  
Robert nodded and patted Aaron's shoulder.  
  
"Did she say anything about me?"  
  
"Nah. I told her you had nothing to do with it. The truth really, you were holding me back and that was it"  
  
"Oh. Think your mum'll let me stay over then?"  
  
"Doubt it"  
  
Robert felt his phone vibrate again like it had been doing before Aaron was let out the office and he was going to tell Aaron about it again when a large shadow bloomed over them and they both looked up from their seats.  
  
Ahh...the mother herself...  
  
She stood there with her hands on her hips and stormed off to the office to tell them she was taking Aaron home. She signed a sheet confirming his suspension for two days and Robert gave Aaron a side hug.  
  
"Good luck. See you thursday then?"  
  
"Yeah. She's gonna take my phone off me I bet you...oh! Come by for dinner though? She'll probably make me clean or something..."  
  
"Ahh..good idea. See you tonight then"  
  
"Yeah. See you"  
  
Aaron waited for his mum to walk over and when she did, she grabbed Aaron's chin and tipped his face up to inspect the damage. She let go when she was done and looked at Robert.  
  
"Robert, could you not flippin hold him back at least?"  
  
Robert nodded.  
  
"I did! That was me holding him back...after he lunged for Ross..."  
  
"Well...I'll have a chat with Emma later then. Go on, give me your phone you idiot...sorry Robert, you'll not be staying for a couple days ok?"  
  
Again, Robert nodded, understanding that he wouldn't be allowed to stay with Aaron whilst he was being punished. In a way, it felt like Robert was being punished too...  
  
"Yeah ok"  
  
"Mum, it wasn't even my fault! He was going on and on abo-"  
  
"No, I don't wanna hear it! Out into the car now! Bye Robert"  
  
"Bye Chas. Oh! I'm coming for dinner tonight!"  
  
"Ok!"  
  
......  
  
Robert thankfully didn't get a suspension like Aaron and Ross. He explained his side of the story before trying his best to stick up for Aaron by telling Miss Grant about Ross provoking him. Of course...it didn't fully convince her since she knew of Aaron and Roberts relationship and she must've got it into her head that Robert would say anything to help Aaron.  
  
She gave Robert two punishment exercises for the next class instead and when he was done, sent him away with another one for...whatever reason there was...  
  
She let Robert go and he just...continued on with the day rereading his mean texts he had been receiving. He received two more during his last period and at the end of the day, when the bell rang he went to the boys toilets and untucked his shirt to pull it up. He poked a finger to his stomach, watching it wobble ever so slightly and pulled his shirt back down. He hoisted himself up on the counter beside the sinks and began looking up ways to lose weight, finding beginner exercises and certain types of food to eat.  
  
Most of them looked disgusting if he was honest...  
  
When the school janitor walked in and found Robert on the sinks, he coughed and looked at his watch whilst carrying a mop and mop bucket in one hand.  
  
"You know school ended a while ago?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm just going..."  
  
Robert hopped off the sinks and walked out, making his way to the bus. He looked at the bus as it approached them and decided why not start his exercise early? May as well walk home? Small changes to his exercise routine (which he had none...) meant he could make a lot of progress.  
  
By the time he headed home, his phone had vibrated a billion times and he didn't expect his dad to straight up start yelling at him.  
  
"Where were you?!"  
  
"What? Why you shouting at me?! What've I done this time?!"  
  
"Only never answering your phone! That's what! Should I contact you through e-mail? Pigeon do you fine?!"  
  
Robert rolled his eyes and shoved his bag on the couch. He grabbed the newspaper that was tucked underneath the coffee table and his dad snatched it out his hands.  
  
"Oi! What is it then?!"  
  
"Your sister. Victoria's not come home yet. Sent me a text telling me she's heading to a party instead. I wanted you to keep an eye on her. She's not answering any of my calls either"  
  
"She'll probably be at Adams"  
  
"I called Moira. Adams home. Vic's not with him"  
  
Robert picked out his phone and called Victoria. Three rings rung out and her voicemail rung through instead. Robert hung up and sighed.  
  
"Ok, ok I'll go look for her"  
  
Jack nodded and sent him out. Robert walked around and went to the pub first to look for her. A party? Maybe she went and asked Aaron for a quick booze supply first?  
  
"Chas? Has Vic been around?"  
  
"Sorry love. No. Aaron's still being punished so also, no, you will not be seeing him"  
  
"No. For once I'm not here to see Aaron. Vic's gone missing so keep an eye out yeah?"  
  
"Oh sure love. I'll give you a ring if I see her"  
  
"Ta!"  
  
He had barely even turned around when his phone rung and he saw it was Rebecca. He answered it and decided to ask her if she had seen Victoria. Her and Vic had already become pretty close after all.  
  
"Rebecca? Hi, Look, quick question, you seen Vic? She's went missing. Oh, she is? Oh thanks! Look..."  
  
He walked out and continued talking to her with Chas giving him a look behind his head. Didn't Aaron mention something about a Rebecca? Maybe he had a right to be worried...  
  
......  
  
Robert thankfully found Victoria. She was at Rebecca's house helping her get over her...as Victoria quoted...'pity party'  
  
Apparently auto correct had happened when she sent a quick text to her dad telling him that she was going to Rebecca's to fix up her pity party and obviously Jack being the person he was...must've thought she was going to an actual party therefore freaking out.  
  
"You know Dad's pissed?"  
  
Rebecca walked by the door and waved Robert in.  
  
"Robert, you know you can come in. Don't just stand out there"  
  
"I'll pass thanks"  
  
"Chrissies not in don't worry"  
  
Oh thank god. Robert walked in and shut the door behind him and watched Victoria begin to pack up her stuff. Apparently when cheering someone else up from their pity party, it meant makeovers and a bundle of chocolate. Robert politely declined when Rebecca offered him one.  
  
Robert sent his dad a text telling him he was coming back with Victoria soon and when his phone vibrated, he checked for a reply from his dad. Unfortunately it turned out to be another hate text which Robert ignored yet again.  
  
He shoved it deep in his pockets and once Victoria was done, Robert took them home to their dad who was finally relieved to see that his daughter hadn't gone missing.  
  
"Dad she was literally at a friend's house for twenty minutes...pity party means she was cheering a friend up..."  
  
Jack rolled his eyes.  
  
"I know that. Anyways, I'm treating us all tonight to a pub dinner, sound good?"  
  
Victoria raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Since when do you treat us to pub dinners? Whatever happened to let's be all healthy and-"  
  
Robert nudged his sister.  
  
"Shut up. What Vic means to say is thaaaank you. Don't you?"  
  
Victoria slapped his arm away.  
  
"Robert! If you elbow me one more t-"  
  
Robert elbowed her.  
  
Victoria freaked out.  
  
Jack only shook his head at the pair of siblings who weren't growing up anytime soon. His 18 year old son and his 17 year old daughter. Still, when they finished their bickering, Robert couldn't help but think about all this greasy food that the pub provided them with and he almost wanted to puke at the thought. It was delicious, sure, but...he couldn't. Not if he wanted to get in shape.  
  
"I'm gonna stay home. I don't feel well"  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You sure? Your...boyfriends at the pub isn't he?"  
  
Oh bless him. Robert knew his dad was probably never going to get used to the fact that he and Aaron were together. And it seemed that whenever Jack thought about them, it seemed to be only the physical part of the relationship he thought about. He always reminded Robert about safe sex and of course if anything happens recklessly, go get tested straight away.  
  
He never really thought much of the emotional side. His own self being way too 'macho man' or something.  
  
"Yeah dad I'm sure. Uhh...say hi to him from me though? He's grounded so his phones away. I'll make myself soup or something"  
  
Jack nodded and took himself and Victoria out. He found Andy on their way to the pub and dragged him along for a nice family meal where Victoria told Aaron Robert said hi and Chas gave them weird looks because...when had Robert ever decided to turn down the opportunity to see Aaron or get a pub dinner? He loved both equally.  
  
And then she remembered Rebecca.  
  
He did say he was going to see her didn't he? Well not exactly but he was talking to her...  
  
Meanwhile...Robert was back home opening a tin of tomato soup, heated it up in the microwave, took a spoonful and remembered his trying to lose weight. He poured the soup down the sink and grabbed a glass of water and changed into loose clothing and began following along the instructions to all these beginner exercises.

......................................................

 

**18th May- Monday**

.

.

.  
  
An entire week passed and before Robert knew it, it was Monday again. He saw Aaron at school on Thursday and Friday and then when he tried to go over to the pub on Saturday, Chas strictly told him she didn't want him to stay over. That led to an argument, a huge one really about Chas not letting Robert hurt Aaron if he's off with this Rebecca girl and he of course had to explain himself and show Chas the text messages and why he had to get Victoria.  
  
He even called Victoria and made her tell Chas the reason Robert was at Rebecca's. Eventually, Chas did let Robert go upstairs when he told her to just leave it and stormed out the pub in a bad mood. It was obvious, Chas didn't trust him just like Aaron didn't trust him. Why didn't they trust him? He wasn't doing anything bad or wrong?  
  
She did send over a box of cookies to Jack though and told him to give those to Robert as well as an apology since Robert didn't want to talk to her. And when Jack tried to ask Robert what the hell happened?  
  
He received a door slam to the face.  
  
So now we're up to Monday.  
  
Monday where Aaron had backed Robert into the corner of an empty corridor and tipped his head up and gave him a right snog. At first, Robert went along with it until Aaron pulled back with a frown.  
  
"Hey what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing"  
  
Aaron studied his face for a few seconds until he stepped back and sighed.  
  
"Is it because of what mum said? She apologised already..."  
  
"No I know. But...I mean, you don't really trust me do you? Because of her? Rebecca..."  
  
"I do! It's just-!"  
  
"Because I'm bisexual and apparently that means I'm gonna shag the next girl that comes along?"  
  
Aaron opened his mouth to talk when Robert picked up his bag from the floor and scoffed.  
  
"Nevermind. I'll see you later"  
  
With that said, Robert stormed off and went...somewhere and Aaron went to go find Victoria and Adam because it was interval. He couldn't concentrate in his next two classes and the same went for Robert who was so hungry, he actually didn't realise he was chewing the end of his pencil.  
  
His stomach growled extra loud and he almost wanted to barf when of all people, Priya sat down across from him. She was in his year and she was sipping on a...weird gross looking green...slime drink? Robert made a face of disgust and pointed at it.  
  
"What the hell is that?"  
  
Her lips made a popping sound when she pulled away from the straw and shook her cup.  
  
"It's a weight loss smoothie, duh"  
  
"Well yeah, but what's in it?"  
  
"Banana, avocado, cucumber, chai seeds, spinach, oats and coconut oil"  
  
"Sounds disgusting"  
  
She made a face.  
  
"It is. But it helps me lose weight so who cares right?"  
  
Robert eyed the smoothie before extending a hand out, silently asking for the cup. She handed it over to him and he popped the lid open to sip some from the edge of the cup. He scrunched up his face and pushed the lid back down until it clicked and handed it straight back.  
  
"Ugh! That's well disgusting!"  
  
Priya snatched the cup out of his hands and frowned.  
  
"Well no-one asked you to try any!"  
  
Robert looked away and tried his best to focus on his physics homework in front of him and Priya looked at him with narrowed eyes. He tried to ignore her hard stare and focus on the confusing question in front of him but when she continued and continued, Robert snapped at her.  
  
"Fancy me or summat? Stop staring will you?"  
  
"How much sleep have you had?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Ok...that wasn't what he was expecting. Priya of all people to comment on his dark eye circles. She never really paid Robert much attention and the only classes they had together were study periods so...what the hell was she being all concerned for?  
  
Robert rubbed the area underneath his eyes and Priya gave him a weird look and pointed at the physics sheets.  
  
"You been up all night doing this?"  
  
He replied in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"No. But thanks anyways, for saying I look tired..."  
  
"Well you do. Here, have an energy bar. These are amazing for you, trust me"  
  
She pulled out some healthy energy bar from her large school handbag and slid it across the table towards his arm. Robert waved his hand to say no when she slid it even closer to him and he sighed.  
  
"What even is it?"  
  
"It's a granola bar. Super good if you wanna stay healthy and stuff. It's worked well on me anyways"  
  
Robert took it and turned the bar around to read all the ingredients and measurements on the back of the wrapper. He cringed slightly when seeing the sugar part highlight itself a red colour and he set it down.  
  
"Nah I'm alright. Any other tips to lose weight?"  
  
When she looked at him in question, he mentally smacked himself on the head and quickly made up some excuse.  
  
"I'm hoping to lose all my birthday weight? Cake and crisps do that to you, you know"  
  
She took that answer happily because next thing Robert knew, she was clapping her hands excitedly and she leaned in close.  
  
"You wanna join the fitness club? It's on everyday after school in the fitness room"  
  
"We have a fitness room?"  
  
"Yeah! We already told you but then I'm pretty sure Aaron laughed and called it a girly thing to do. Which is false might I add! We do Yoga aswell if you're into that?"  
  
Ugh. Yoga. What a lazy way of exercising Robert thought. But the fitness room? He could do proper exercise in there rather than pushing himself up and down in the middle of his bedroom floor and he could lose a ton of weight! The text messages would disappear and this person would like him once again!  
  
If he ever even found out who it was.  
  
"Ok. Yeah sure, uhh...do I need to sign anything?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"What time is it at?"  
  
"Everyday after school. But we only get an hour. And you'll need to bring your gym kit aswell obviously"  
  
"Right...Ok, yeah sure. Can I start today?"  
  
She nodded and Robert rejoiced.  
  
Finally, he could begin to work towards his achievements.  
  
......  
  
At lunch, Robert waited outside Aaron's class for him to come out. When Aaron stepped out, Robert grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled him with a smile.  
  
"Hi"  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes, still angry with his boyfriend for lashing out yet again today.  
  
"What is it Robert?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry..."  
  
Aaron straightened up and began properly listening now. Robert was apologising already? Usually whenever they had arguments, they lasted up to an entire day before one of them would cave in and apologise and make a big deal out of it. It usually ended up with Robert apologising and Aaron crying.  
  
"I lashed out on you and...I'm sorry. You were just doing what a boyfriend does an all that by being jealous but it's ok! You dont know how many times I wanna punch flippin Ellis for going near you. Every time he just-"  
  
Aaron hovered a hand over the front of Roberts chest and pushed his hand in to press his hand against his chest. He smiled and Robert continued.  
  
"Sorry. But...I'm just being silly..."  
  
He knew he needed to give Aaron some excuse for why he was being moody and he obviously couldn't tell him he was annoyed because he was forcing himself to skip meals so...his masterful skill of lying came out to play.  
  
"Dads been getting on my case everyday. It's about a job because I'm eighteen and stuff...he's comparing me and Andy yet again..."  
  
"Again? Your dad knows that puts you down-"  
  
"I know. But he's still doing it and that's why I'm moody...look, next time I yell at you...can you just like punch me or something?"  
  
Aaron smiled and wrapped his arms around Robert for a hug. Robert squeezed him close and sighed.  
  
"Is that permission then? To hit you whenever?"  
  
Robert chuckled and nodded, pressing a kiss on top of Aaron's head.  
  
"Yeah sure. Why not"  
  
.....  
  
So Jack may have not been as close to Robert like he was with Andy and Vic but it was purely because Andy and Victoria had more of the same interests as him. Andy and Vic didn't mind helping out on the farm from time to time unlike Robert who always said he could see someone building something new on top of it in a hundred years.  
  
So he may not be close to Robert, but he was still his son and he knew him. He knew he was distancing himself from his family, hadn't been staying over at his boyfriends because Chas flipped out the other day and he knew he preferred to eat his dinner in his bedroom because he had lots of studying apparently.  
  
He was in the middle of cleaning the house while everyone was at school and he knew Robert kept his room clean because he was a truly organised person, but he still wanted to check. Plus he had a pile of Roberts washing in his hands to dump on his bed.  
  
He opened the door and immediately, his nose scrunched up and he felt like he was cut short of breath. What the hell was that smell?!  
  
He rushed over to the window and pushed it open, letting some fresh air come in. He was a teenage boy himself at one point you know, and this was definitely not the typical teenage boy smell, which usually consisted of unclean socks and boxers that had lay around for a while.  
  
The room itself looked pretty clean and Robert didn't even own a bin so...what the hell was that?  
  
He looked around the room, on top of his desk, shelves, his desk of drawers...  
  
Under his bed.  
  
He pulled up the sheet that draped along the bottom and he found it. Three plates of dinner were sitting beside each other, untouched.  
  
Spaghetti, Chips and sausage rolls and mince and mash potatoes.  
  
He gathered them all up together and cursed under his breath at the smell and took them all into the kitchen to wash them. He flicked up the tap so the hot water would begin to run and then shut it off straight away. No, he needed to show Robert that he had seen his dinner plates, saw his lack of eating which meant he was...sad maybe? Sad about something?  
  
As far as he knew, Robert still went out with his boyfriend so...what was up?  
  
He had to wait until Robert came home though.  
  
He waited and waited and waited until the door slammed open and in walked Victoria. He raised an eyebrow and watched her walk around getting her homework out and making a start at the coffee table. He waited another fifteen minutes and then another fifteen until he decided to interrupt his daughter.  
  
"Where's Robert?"  
  
"Uhh, think he said he was going to Aaron's for a bit"  
  
"Oh. I'll be back in twenty minutes ok? Don't wash those plates"  
  
Victoria paused her writing and looked confused. Usually whenever her dad went out, she did a couple of chores to help out with the household. Dishes were her main duty and now she was told not to clean them?  
  
Before she could ask why, Jack was gone.  
  
.......  
  
So Robert was at Aarons, yes. He felt like he and Aaron hadn't had any proper alone time for a while and of course the only place for a quickie was either in Aaron's room or at a party. Unfortunately there was no parties coming up that he knew of and he didn't want to wait either. So as soon as he and Aaron stepped in through the back, Aaron was glad his mum had an extremely busy shift right now and tugged Robert upstairs and into his room.  
  
It was...weird a little bit.  
  
Aaron made sure to give him a well proper kiss against the back of his bedroom door, the one where he did that special thing with his tongue that always had Robert going straight away. The one were Aaron curled his tongue along the back of Roberts teeth and squeezed his bum with his hands.  
  
Only...this didn't seem to be doing it much for Robert.  
  
He watched Aaron strip out of his school shirt and trousers and he pulled down his own trousers and curled his fingers at the bottom of his own school shirt.  
  
And he hesitated.  
  
Because fuck, he hadn't thought this through. He still hadn't lost any weight, at least he hadn't seen any progress yet and he didn't want to scare Aaron off. Which might sound ridiculous because he didn't care about Roberts weight but now he was getting these texts, it meant someone had noticed so...what if Aaron now noticed and thought he was disgusting and left him?  
  
Robert would leave himself, he's that fat.  
  
Aaron toed off his socks and looked towards his boyfriend. He chuckled and grabbed the top of Roberts shirt, fingers fiddling to open the buttons.  
  
"You're such a neat freak sometimes..."  
  
Robert exhaled. Ok. So he thought Robert was just worried about messing up his shirt. Good.  
  
"Yeah"  
  
Aaron managed to get three buttons undone and started pulling the shirt off of Robert with a smile. Once that was off, Robert could hardly breathe.  
  
Oh god. Air was actually touching his stomach. Air was actually making physical contact with his flabby stomach, his disgusting stomach that jiggled whenever he took a breath...fuck...What the hell was Aaron thinking?! Taking off his shirt like that?!  
  
Aaron looked down at Robert who was flat against the door with his back and he sort of just...stared into space. Even when Aaron sunk to his knees, he paid no attention. Fuck. Fuck. He couldn't do this.  
  
He couldn't stand here while Aaron was clearly not enjoying this. He was clearly disgusted by this! Look at his face! His face said everything!  
  
Aaron stood back up and awkwardly bit his lip. Robert wasn't even...he wasn't even hard...  
  
"Robert? You sure you wanna do this?"  
  
Robert ended up taking deep breaths and Aaron grabbed a hold of him and guided him over to the bed to sit down.  
  
"Robert? Hey...it's ok...Robert, can you hear me?"  
  
"My shirt..."  
  
Aaron grabbed his shirt and passed it over to his panicking boyfriend who slipped it back on and buttoned the top three buttons. He found his tie and decided not to shove that on, instead, his blazer and trousers as fast as he could.  
  
"Robert? Are you-?"  
  
A loud knock on the door interrupted him.  
  
"Robert?! You in there?!"  
  
Jack? What the hell was Jack doing here?  
  
Aaron panicked for a second thinking he accidentally left his door open and when he saw it was locked, he breathed again. Thank God. Last thing he wanted was Roberts dad to walk in on a panicking Robert and a semi hard and practically naked Aaron.  
  
Aaron grabbed his dressing gown from the floor and slipped that on, making sure to tie it extra tight. He didn't want any slip-ups with this. He opened the door and smiled.  
  
"Alright Jack?"  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"Fine thanks. Robert here? Of course he is I can see him..."  
  
Robert stood up and walked towards his dad.  
  
"Yeah? What is it?"  
  
"I really need you to come home. Now. It's something serious"  
  
Robert awkwardly cleared his throat and nodded. He grabbed his bag from the floor and knew he had to take a trip to the bathroom first to look at his reflection, last thing he needed was his sister to start teasing him about sex looks and stuff.  
  
"Yeah. One sec, need the toilet first"  
  
Jack let him walk by and he awkwardly stood there in front of Aaron whilst waiting. Aaron shifted from foot to foot and then Jack knew he had to ask him.  
  
"So...have you and Robert been ok? Any arguments? Fights?"  
  
"No. We're good as ever...can't say the same for yous though..."  
  
Jack frowned at him. What a cheeky little-  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
"You've been stressing him out. I know he's 18 but you don't need to get on his case all the time about a job and stuff. He's hardly getting any sleep cause of it..."  
  
"What the he-"  
  
Robert stepped out the bathroom looking much better and he nodded his head towards the stairs for his dad to follow. Aaron shut the door with a cute little goodbye wave to Robert and Jack was filled with so many questions in his head on the way home.  
  
They said nothing until they got inside. Jack told Victoria to go upstairs to her room and Robert knew this just have been serious.  
  
"Is it true?"  
  
Robert dropped his bag on the couch.  
  
"Is what true?"  
  
"You've not been eating or sleeping cause of me? Robert, why you telling lies to Aaron? I ain't done anything, haven't even given you any speech about getting a job recently either. One time son, one time I said that to you"  
  
"What? What's Aaron said?"  
  
"Apparently I've been going on at you, telling you to get a job constantly. No I haven't Robert?!"  
  
Robert frowned and then looked at the three plates behind his dad's shoulders, his dinner plates that had been sitting under his bed for three days...  
  
He found them? How? Why? Did he now know that he was trying to lose weight?  
  
"I haven't. Look, I'm just...having trouble sleeping...that's all"  
  
"And eating? I was about to clean your room today and look what's lying underneath the bed!"  
  
He turned and pointed at the plates, anger seeping out of him. He took a deep breath when Robert said nothing and just stared at the clock to the right and then he sighed and calmed down instantly. He wasn't even angry, he was sad, irritated at the fact that he hadn't seen this sooner.  
  
"Son, whatever's going on...you can tell me. Are you getting bullied? Is that it? Aaron even?"  
  
Robert shook his head angrily and then snapped back to his dad when he continued with his stupid questions.  
  
"No! It's not! It's none of those! It's just-!"  
  
But what could he say? If he told the truth, he could already see how this would pan out. His dad would make fun of him for not being like Andy and be a proper man. He would tell him to grow up. He would tell Robert to...he didn't even know anymore. So he lied like he always did.  
  
He looked around for some excuse and mentally apologised to his dead mother. Sorry mum.  
  
"I'm just missing mum...i mean, it was my eighteenth recently and I just wish she was here..."  
  
Jack's face softened at that and he made a small oh noise before looking at the photograph of his wife sitting on top of the fireplace and gave her a small smile.  
  
"You could've just told me...I miss her too. And of course, don't tell Victoria but you were her favourite you know? Used to dress you up in Paddington Bears outfits all the time. One time you were obsessed with this silly red raincoat, real leather an all and when is it you wanted to wear it? When it was bloody a hundred degrees!"  
  
Robert smiled at that. He liked hearing stories of his mum...but not in this way. Not when he was using her as an excuse to not tell his dad he was being bullied...  
  
"You cried so much when your mum took it off you but-"  
  
"Dad, I'm gonna go upstairs...sorry, I'm just really tired. I've got a physics test tomorrow and-"  
  
"Oh. Yeah, yeah sure that's ok. I'll bring up dinner to you later yeah?"  
  
Robert only nodded with a fake toothy smile and wandered on upstairs.  
  
Later, when he had finished doing exactly forty push-ups and thirty-five sit-ups, his dad came in with a plate of chips and gravy and to the side were a couple of sliced cucumbers and carrot sticks.  
  
He took it and ate the three cucumber slices and five carrot sticks. He opened his window and used his fork to scrape off the food, watching it land on the grass below. Pigeons flew in a couple of seconds later and began eating away and Robert was glad.  
  
An hour later, after doing...countless sit-ups, his dad returned to take his plate down and handed him a bowl.  
  
"Your favourite. Your mum's favourite aswell believe it or not"  
  
Chocolate orange cake...  
  
It was his favourite...  
  
Jack left the room and Robert opened his window again and picked up the bowl and took a deep breath and tossed it out. The pigeons were well in for a treat today.  
  
He sniffled and wiped his eyes before lying back down on the floor and shoved his hands behind his head, knees bent and began doing his sit-ups again. He didn't count, he just went on and on until his alarm went off for his daily shower and off he went.  
  
And if he broke down in the shower whilst applying Apple scented shampoo to his hair, then so what? Nobody cared anyways.  
  
Nobody would ever care.  
.......................................................

 

**25th May- Monday**

.

.

.

  
The problem with trying to not eat anything, was that...it was hard to do at school when you had a whole 45 minutes to have lunch. Even though it took a whole ten minutes to get to the front of the queue if you were stuck at the back. Robert didn't mind though because one, he had packed lunches and two, he purposely didn't bring them anymore. It had been...a week since he stopped eating at lunch, at home since he told his dad the cruel lie about his mum and of course since his harsh exercising plus the fitness room everyday after school.  
  
It was working though. He checked on the bathroom scales and found he already went down a bit. Success!  
  
Though the bad thing about this was his boyfriend who eyed him constantly and another bad thing was being in the same friend group with a sibling.  
  
Aaron tapped his hand and smiled at Robert.  
  
"Here. Mum made your favourite. She's even added in a packet of Rolos"  
  
Robert looked at the sandwich, and honestly, it was so weird to...to starve yourself so much to the point where you can't taste anything and then when you see food right there in front of you, you can actually taste it. Like right now, he could taste the cold (weirdly nice slimy) turkey ham juices...the fatty butter...the squishy bread...  
  
Oh god, his mouth was watering just thinking of it. But he couldn't. Eating meant more calories which meant he would gain weight which would mean Aaron would hate him and the texts would continue.  
  
Though if he was honest, the texts now...seemed to be helping. They encouraged him sort of. When he would feel ready to give up with his push ups, he would flick through the texts and read them and use those to cloud up his mind. Fill his brain with those words only. But Aaron-oh...Aaron was still staring at him...for...what reason again?  
  
Oh yeah, didn't he offer a sandwich literally a second ago?  
  
"Nah I'm alright. I already ate"  
  
And this is where the whole 'being in the same friend group with a sibling should be forbidden' would come in. Victoria paused from eating her strawberry yogurt and scoffed.  
  
"Liar. You ran out this morning with nothing to eat. Unless you had something at Aarons...did he?"  
  
Aaron shook his head. Robert hadn't even showed up to his household today.  
  
"No...Robert, you sure you don't want-"  
  
"No Aaron, I don't. Stop asking"  
  
Adam frowned and set down the schools plastic fork. He pointed the end of his fork towards Robert and he did not look happy one bit.  
  
"Oi, stop talking to him like that, telling him to shut up everytime..."  
  
Robert rolled his eyes.  
  
"Sorry, can you say that with your pants on? Doesn't look like you ever stay in them"  
  
Aaron stood up and tried to lunge for Robert when Victoria held him back and Aaron pulled on Roberts shoulder.  
  
"Come on, we're getting out of here"  
  
Adam widened his eyes, clearly thinking that Aaron was thinking of him being in the wrong when he wasn't. Aaron frowned and looked over at Adam and Victoria.  
  
"We're just gonna talk...be back in a second"  
  
Adam frowned.  
  
"Yeah mate. Take your time"  
  
When Aaron had dragged Robert to a secluded part of the school, he gave him a light shove and shook his head.  
  
"What the fuck Robert? Why'd you say that to Adam?"  
  
"Well he's butting in to our conversations when he has no need to!"  
  
"Because he was trying to tell you to stop talking to me like...like..."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like I'm your bloody slave or something! You just keep telling me to do something, keep telling me to and expect me to do it? No Robert, I'm your boyfriend, I'm not something you control, ok?"  
  
Robert widened his eyes. Surely he hadn't been acting this way towards Aaron, hadn't been that rude to him? He didn't want to come off as that way, just...Aaron wouldn't listen sometimes and he kept going on and on about something...  
  
He wasn't trying to control Aaron.  
  
He wondered if he would receive a new text telling him how much of a controlling dick he was or something.  
  
"I'm sorry...I'm just..."  
  
He wondered if he was going to use his mum as a lie to Aaron. He had already sunk that low, might as well continue.  
  
"It's mum...I miss her and-"  
  
Aaron shoved him.  
  
"You're lying"  
  
Fuck. Of course Aaron would know when he's lying...  
  
"No I'm not. It's the truth..."  
  
"Is it? Because I know what you're like when you talk about her. Its hard and you struggle to even mention her most times. Look, whatever it is...sort it yeah? Or...tell me and I'll help you"  
  
Of course...the offered help. The constant offering of help that proved Robert was weak, proved he was relying on others to take the smack for him because he was such a weak little baby. He was 18, he needed to act like it...show he wasn't weak and he could handle things on his own.  
  
"Help me with what?"  
  
"I dunno. Your dad for one?"  
  
"What the hell does my dad have to do with it?"  
  
"I dunno but you mention him everytime you stop eating!"  
  
Robert stepped back and shook his head. Aaron hadn't found out, had he? He found out that...that...he wasn't eating as much...oh god, what the fuck was he gonna say? He couldn't exactly say he was starving himself because some person on his phone told him to?  
  
"I'm not...not eating. Look, i just decided to start a new diet plan...that's all"  
  
"Oh. Really?"  
  
Robert nodded. He was technically telling the truth, just not the truthful meaning behind the truth. So he wasn't being wrong, he was being right with his...sort of half lie half truth.  
  
"Well...why didn't you just tell me that?"  
  
"Because look at the way you flipped out a second ago. That's why...and having Adam shove it in my face how mean I'm being is annoying. It's a bit hard to resist fatty food you know...and I promised Priya that I'd join in on the fun run..."  
  
Fun run. A new lie. Remember that.  
  
God there were so many lies to remember...so many.  
  
"A fun run? That's...good then isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah. It's alright. It's...alright..."  
  
Aaron paused for a couple of seconds before nodding his head towards the cafeteria.  
  
"Lets go back and apologise yeah? Especially to Adam..."  
  
"Fine"  
  
They went back and they apologised and Robert had nothing except a bottle of water and a bite of an apple to satisfy everyone around the table. If they were this suspicious about Robert already then that meant he wasn't doing a good job, meant he wasn't hiding it very well at all.  
  
He had to fix this.  
  
So when he saw Priya in the cafeteria walk along to the water cooler and begin to fill up her water bottle, he told the group he'd be a couple of seconds and walked over to her. He tapped her shoulder and smiled.  
  
"Hey"  
  
"Hi Robert. What's up?"  
  
"Just wondering. The fitness room, is it open during lunch?"  
  
"Yeah. That's where I go anyways. Well, i go to the mirror room to eat lunch and then the fitness room. Only members of the after school fitness club can go though so you'll be fine"  
  
Thank God. A new way of hiding himself.  
  
"Ok, thanks"  
  
"There's one more rule aswell"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You need to eat a full lunch before coming down..."  
  
Robert nodded and walked away, missing the way she stared after him with a frown on her face. She swore Roberts collar of his shirt had expanded somehow...despite all the buttons being done up.  
  
......  
  
Robert did ask Aaron if he wanted to come along to the fitness room after school today and Aaron agreed with a hesitant smile. Robert told Priya that Aaron didn't have his kit with him so he was just going to watch as he studied or something. She happily let Aaron in and Robert left to go get changed.  
  
Aaron busied himself with games on his phone and because no one else in the fitness room could be bothered, he was in charge of choosing a music radio station for them to listen to. Of course he chose the one and only...Capital.  
  
He looked up at Robert who walked in with his gym kit on which was really one of Aaron's old t-shirts and a pair of grey joggers. He had worn converse and his earphones stuck in his ears connected to his phone. Robert smiled at Aaron before walking over to the back of the room and stood on the treadmill, phone propped up on the front beside the built in fan for the treadmill.  
  
The fitness room wasn't huge, since it only had four sides for four different things. The back was lined with treadmills and home cross trainer machines, the right of the room had rowing machines, the left had two vibration plate machines and two ab cruncher mats. The front had a small bench were you could lift weights, only...there were no weights around...  
  
Because of shitty health and safety reasons.  
  
Apparently some kid a few years ago tried to kill someone with a fucking dumbell.  
  
Idiot.  
  
And of course that's where Aaron sat as he turned up the volume of the music for the station anytime someone asked him to.  
  
Meanwhile, Robert set up his treadmill at a medium speed and set himself up for a light jog when he decided that wasn't even enough after ten minutes. He could still feel the flab of his stomach flapping about, his jiggly thighs and his skin was too dry, meaning he wasn't sweating.  
  
Meaning he wasn't trying hard enough.  
  
He turned it up higher by two and went into a faster jog. He ran and ran until he could still feel his stupid flab and hopped onto the sides of the running treadmill, the flat sides where he could stand right now. He adjusted his phone before looking left and right and realised no-one was using these machines.  
  
Time for some encouragement.  
  
One thing Robert loved, was to show people how much he could change if he wanted to. He could change into a bad bastard one day and then the sweetest angel if you tormented him long enough. Thankfully the texts had been sent long enough for him to follow through with what they were suggesting and he was doing it. He was losing weight, Aaron was...maybe finding him more attractive?  
  
He looked up to Aaron at the front who had his head bent over and he was playing a game on his phone. Robert turned back to his machine and opened up his texts, left his phone standing in front of him and he pushed the button to increase the speed by another five.  
  
This time, he was into a fast run and he did exactly that.  
  
He read those texts over and over again until they planted themselves into his brain and he ran to prove them wrong. They had to be wrong. He couldn't be that fat could he?  
  
The flab jumping up and down underneath his t-shirt proved him wrong.  
  
But as soon as he started to feel his skin burn, the bottom of his feet begin to pulse with every panting breath, he knew he was doing it right. He ran for another half hour until Priya nudged his arm and of course the first thing he would do is reach out for his phone while forgetting a treadmill is running and of course...  
  
He dropped down on his side and fell to the left on another treadmill, his phone that was attached to his earphones fell out of the slot and smacked him right on the side of the head. Aaron jumped to his feet seeing the whole ordeal and rushed over and Priya switched the machine off before anyone else could get hurt.  
  
"Robert? You ok?!"  
  
He groaned, but sent her a thumbs up and winced when he pushed himself up to sit cross legged on the non running treadmill.  
  
"Fine"  
  
Aaron patted the top of his head.  
  
"Jesus christ, gave me a right scare...how'd you fall off, you fruitcake"  
  
Robert only smiled. Fruitcake. Their nickname for each other to show that the other person was genuinely worried for that person.  
  
Robert stood up and tugged his earphones out of his ears and he began rolling them up together. Did Priya see the texts?  
  
She frowned and looked Robert up and down and then looked at Aaron.  
  
"Aaron? Can I talk to you?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow because...when the hell has Priya Sharma ever wanted to talk to Aaron Dingle? It was just unheard of.  
  
"Yeah sure"  
  
Robert frowned at this and shoved by them to go get changed. He wasn't in the mood anymore to run and he was pretty sure his side was bruised, so he left the fitness room with his bag and rushed off to the changing room.  
  
Priya crossed her arms and Aaron wondered what was up. She didn't seem happy. Maybe him being here distracted Robert and she was gonna tell him to go away because he's the reason Robert got hurt?  
  
"Aaron, I'm worried. When was the last time Robert ate?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Ok...that hadn't been what he was expecting...  
  
"Robert. When was the last time he ate? You've seen that he's lost weight right?"  
  
Well of course he had. Robert literally mentioned he was planning to lose weight because he wanted to start being fit and healthy. Why else would he have joined a fitness club. Duh.  
  
But he didn't care say this to her incase she bit his head off with his cheeky response.  
  
"Yeah. He said he wanted to start being fit and healthy and all that. No big deal"  
  
It was like he was trying to admit it to himself.  
  
"Hmm...no, I don't think so. Aaron, this is serious...have you ever heard of anorexia?"  
  
"Yeah, that skinny thing girls have. It's an illness isn't it?"  
  
"It's not just for girls Aaron!"  
  
Aaron raised his hands up, silently apologising and she sighed.  
  
"The other day...Robert was asking me for like...a lot of tips and stuff about weight loss and he's just really...really adamant for this. He even asked to use the fitness club at lunch...you know his shirt doesn't even fit him properly anymore?"  
  
"Well...Yeah? He said he wanted to lose weight and he was probably asking you for like...tips or something. Doesn't mean he's anorexic. He doesn't look it"  
  
She sighed again and looked around the fitness room. There were only two other girls in and they were busy working on their abs on the ab cruncher mats in their sports bra and leggings. They also had earphones in.  
  
"Look, all I'm saying is keep an eye on him yeah? He might want to lose weight but he's doing it the wrong way...well, he's taking it far if he continues to be like this..."  
  
Aaron paused for a second. The other day...when he and Robert were about to...do it, he panicked as soon as his shirt was taken off. And he hadn't been eating...He lied to Aaron today about eating breakfast only to be caught out straight away and-  
  
"How do I tell if he's this...anorexic thing then?"  
  
"I dunno. Offer him food? Keep a close eye on his eating habits? Check for meanspo?"  
  
"What the hells meanspo?"  
  
"Mean inspirational comments. Look it up, he's coming in..."  
  
Aaron turned around and smiled at his boyfriend before turning to Priya. He hugged her to give her a quick thank you in her ear and walked out the fitness room. He looked around at Roberts torso area, his eyes falling on the collar of his shirt. Was it even possible for your neck to lose weight?  
  
He couldn't see much difference because Robert did wear a blazer aswell, but the shirt seemed to be a good fit on him. Priya was surely overreacting...wasn't she?  
  
And then he opened the door to leave the school and the wind blew his shirt and blazer in towards his belly and...ok. Maybe he worried a tiny little bit.  
  
Aaron held hands with Robert at the bus stop until Robert bounced his knees and stood up and announced he preferred to walk home. Which was ridiculous because why walk half an hour when the bus took ten minutes?  
  
But Aaron wasn't done examining him and he needed to watch after him to see if he was ok.  
  
"Ok. I'll walk with you"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. You're not the only one who wants exercise and stuff. Walking will do it fine for me"  
  
Robert only smiled at that and Aaron squeezed his hand and walked home with him. On the way home, Aaron knew he had to remind Robert that he was beautiful...because he was. He was so flippin perfect...why couldn't he see that?  
  
"Robert?"  
  
"Mhmm?"  
  
"You know I love you right? And you don't need to lose weight to be beautiful...right?"  
  
"Yeah? I'm not doing it to be more beautiful. I already know I'm well fit"  
  
Aaron scoffed and chuckled at that because he was glad to see that Robert hadn't lost his sense of humour and he nudged his shoulder against his.  
  
"I'm doing this...because I want to be healthy. Prove to dad that I can be healthy...like Andy"  
  
Aaron nodded.  
  
"Ok. Want to come over for dinner tonight?"  
  
"Can't. I'm studying tonight"  
  
"Yeah. You can study and eat dinner at mines can't you?"  
  
Robert stilled for a second before kissing Aaron's cheek and let go of his hand in the middle of the village. This was the point where they would need to part ways to head to their homes.  
  
"Tell you what, I'll have dinner and come over to yours to study ok?"  
  
And how could Aaron disagree with that?  
  
He waved goodbye to Robert and watched him literally jog off. As soon as he stepped into the pub, Chas was handing him a tenner and asked him to get a tenner worth of oranges at David's because the stupid delivery man hadn't shown up today. He did throw a tantrum before shoving his bag towards her and made two trips to the shops and back and on his third, when he came back half an hour later, his mum told him Robert was upstairs.  
  
He grinned at the sight of his boyfriend sitting on...  
  
Was that a double bed?!  
  
Aaron gasped and cupped a hand around his mouth.  
  
"Mum?! You got me a bigger bed?!"  
  
He heard her footsteps rush upstairs and she stepped in with a smile that disappeared as soon as she spotted Robert.  
  
"Yes...covered in papers and books...really Robert? You can't use the desk?"  
  
"Beds comfier"  
  
She patted Aaron's shoulder after he thanked her and Aaron leaned over to Robert and gave him a quick kiss. He looked at his clock and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"So...take it you've not had dinner then?"  
  
"No, I have. Had it as soon as I went in"  
  
Aaron didn't question his weird early dinner time of having dinner at half past 4 but hey...  
  
"Ok? You want something else?"  
  
"No Aaron. I don't..."  
  
Aaron nodded and shifted Robert over so he could lay flat down on his side of the bed. He moaned at the feeling and smirked.  
  
"Oi, this is my side of the bed you know. It's official, I've got a side of the bed and so do you"  
  
Robert chuckled at that and Aaron rolled off the bed to walk towards the door. Offer him something to eat...see what his reaction is like...he could do that. He told Robert he would be a couple of seconds when Robert began tidying away all his stuff and walked downstairs to grab a couple of muffins he managed to sneak out the kitchen. He walked back up and into the room and wiggled them with a grin.  
  
"Don't tell Marlon. He'd flip. Stole them out the kitchen just for us"  
  
Robert raised an hand and shook it.  
  
"Nah I'm alright"  
  
Oh. So he wasn't going to eat it then? That won't do.  
  
Aaron sat in front of Robert and sighed. He didn't want to see it, didn't want to believe that there was something wrong with his boyfriend, but...he was.  
  
And he wanted to fix it. Fix him.  
  
"Robert please. Take a bite at least..."  
  
"No Aaron, I don't want any"  
  
"Robert please! You're so...."  
  
Robert looked up at him, expecting Aaron to finish his sentence. He sighed and took the muffin and stared at it and took two large bites, chewed and swallowed. It tasted delicious, tasted so...so chocolatey and creamy and...  
  
And he never wanted to get rid of something so much in his stomach.  
  
He could feel it. Could feel the two bites swim around in his stomach, expanding his flab, mocking him almost. He really was a cheater, claiming to keep to this diet and what does he do?  
  
He ruins it by making himself fat again.  
  
He had to start over. Already, a million exercise plans ran through his head and he wondered if there was a local gym he could go to for a cheap price.  
  
"There. You happy?"  
  
Aaron nodded, relieved but...no, he wasn't happy. Robert looked like he wanted to cry as soon as he touched the muffin.  
  
Aaron forced himself to smile and grabbed his television remote from the bedside table.  
  
"Wanna watch a movie?"  
  
Robert looked at his watch and then nodded.  
  
"Ok. I need to go home tonight though, make sure everything's ok with dad. You know what he's like..."  
  
"Yeah. Ok..."  
  
So they watched the movie and Aaron was surprised to find Robert so...distant. He just watched the movie without commentating on anything and when Aaron turned to talk to him halfway through?  
  
He was surprised to find him fast asleep.  
  
He tucked the covers over him and snuck downstairs for his dinner. Chas noticed he was quiet and she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You and Robert have another argument?"  
  
"No, he's sleeping. Mum? What do you know about anorexia?"  
  
She choked on a chip.  
  
"Anorexia? What the hell do you wanna know about that for?"  
  
"No, nothing, just wondering..."  
  
"Ok? Well...umm...I'm not really educated on it much meself, but...sorry love, I'm not much help. Google will tell you everything I guess?"  
  
Aaron nodded and Chas ate another three chips and a tomato before looking at the ceiling and then back to her son.  
  
"Long day at school for him then?"  
  
"Yeah. Something like that..."  
  
They both jumped when they heard a thud from upstairs and then loud footsteps stomping around, into the hallway and then a door slam and then...retching?  
  
Aaron jumped to his feet along with his mum and they rushed upstairs and saw Robert hunched over the toilet, gagging and retching. Aaron rubbed his boyfriends back and Chas peered over the lid to spot the colour. Being a mother meant knowing every colour of sick and it's meaning behind it.  
  
She even knew when it was mushed porridge oats and real sick.  
  
Cough Aaron cough.  
  
But...there was nothing in the pan. So he hadn't been sick...  
  
She spotted his wet fingers clutching the toilet bowl and she raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Robert? You ok?"  
  
"Mhmm...just...it's just one of those sicknesses where it won't come up, you know?"  
  
"Oh. Ok, I'm gonna get you a glass of water alright?"  
  
Robert only nodded and gagged more into the bowl. She took her phone out and hummed and called Jack when she reached downstairs and heard mumbling from upstairs. Probably Aaron comforting Robert.  
  
"Hi Jack. Yeah, sorry to bother you. Yeah Roberts here. He's sick actually, mind picking him up? I know he's old enough to walk home but you know me, crazy paranoid I am..."  
  
She laughed into the phone and smiled when he agreed and only ten minutes later, Jack was at the door and he was ready to pick up his son. She called them both down and offered Jack a glass of water or tea or coffee to which he refused.  
  
Robert walked down, pale as ever and Aaron behind him. Aaron patted Roberts back before Jack patted his son's shoulder and sighed.  
  
"Thanks Chas. Robert? You feeling ok?"  
  
Robert slightly nodded and Chas crossed her arms.  
  
"Might not sound like it, but a lot of food is what helps! Gets rid of that sickness straight away"  
  
Jack thanked her once more and walked away with Robert. Aaron knew he probably wouldn't be coming into school tomorrow and made a mental note to talk to Priya as soon as possible.  
  
....  
  
By the time Robert reached home, he changed into pyjamas and went to the bathroom and rested his head in his hands and groaned. His finger wasn't long enough for him to puke the muffin back up. He could still taste it, the disgusting sweetness of it, the spongy cake...  
  
His toothbrush caught his eye and he picked it up and examined that. He opened his mouth wide and prayed this wouldn't damage his vocal chords in anyway before sliding the handle of his toothbrush past the flat of his tongue, felt it tickle that weird dangly bit at the back of his throat before he gagged and pulled it out. He groaned and knew this wouldnt work if it was a slow process, he had to be quick.  
  
He shoved the toothbrush as far down his throat as he could and immediately, all the sick flew up and down the toilet. He made a fist with his left hand, mentally cheering for this and he hadn't even realised that he had dropped his toothbrush down the toilet too. Jack walked in and patted his son's back and sighed.  
  
"You've got a stomach bug looks like. Take tomorrow off school ok?"  
  
Robert nodded, saying nothing because dammit, the edge of his toothbrush felt like it had scraped the inside of his throat, felt like it was bleeding or something. Owe.  
  
But it worked.  
  
The muffin was gone as well as any other fatty foods he had inhaled today.  
  
He pressed a hand against his stomach, pushing his belly in and he smiled.  
  
Progress.

........................................................

 

**29th May- Friday**

.

.

.  
  
Studying was off his mind now. He didn't want to follow through with studying until he felt fit enough to go ahead with it. He rarely ever got days off of school because naturally, Robert had an amazing immune system and never really got sick often. He had the odd cold here and then in the winter and hayfever kicked his ass in the summer but other than that, he was generally healthy person.  
  
And so...if he decided to milk it and fake his sickness even more to his dad, then so what?  
  
He wasn't ever going to find out anyway.  
  
He was originally planning to go into school but during the night, a plan formed in his head. A plan which meant...more exercise and more weight loss.  
  
He knew his dad worked on the farm for the whole day basically, from six in the morning to half past three in the afternoon, so that meant...Robert was able to exercise in his room without his dad catching him. His dad would question where he got all the energy and of course see that Robert wasn't as sick as he thought.  
  
So this was perfect!  
  
He continued with this on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and when Friday came along, Jack walked into Roberts room to hand him his washing that he usually did on a Friday. He smiled at Robert and set down his pile on the bottom of his bed before hovering his palm over his son's forehead.  
  
"Hiya, how you feeling today? You're looking much better actually"  
  
Robert faked a tired groan and blearily opened his eyes with an equally fake yawn. He looked at his dad and gave him a fake weak smile.  
  
"Hi...yeah, I'm feeling a little better actually..."  
  
Jack smiled.  
  
"Good. Do you want any more of that soup I made yesterday? You scoffed it in no time yesterday!"  
  
Ah yeah...yesterday when Jack made Robert soup and literally seven minutes later, he shut the door and opened his window and poured it out. Jack walked right back in, forgetting to offer Ribert any bread and spotted the empty bowl and he was amazed at the speed of Robert eating it. That was a close one.  
  
Robert politely shook his head.  
  
"No thanks. I'm alright. I wouldn't mind an orange though..."  
  
Jack nodded once more and stood up and left. After Monday, when Robert puked up everything, he did a bit of quiet exercising in his room before his vision was clouded in black spots and he knew right there and then he had to eat something.  
  
Of course, not eat as in...eat a lot.  
  
But eat something to just give him energy.  
  
So he decided that an orange would give him enough energy to go through an entire day. He thought it was the most delicious thing he had ever ate and didn't feel guilty because why would he? According to Google, oranges were one of the healthiest fruit on the planet.  
  
Which meant Robert was being healthy.  
  
His phone vibrated underneath his pillow, twice, and he took it out and switched it on, expecting a new 'inspirational' text. He was actually disappointed to see that it wasn't his bully and it was his boyfriend. A picture was sent by Aaron of...Aaron sleeping? And a text straight after.  
  
'Keeping him up all night, eh Sugden?'  
  
'Also, it's Adam'  
  
Robert rolled his eyes and shifted in his bed and winced when his knee knocked against his leg. Had his knees always been that bony and sharp? They flippin hurt anyway. He sent Aaron (well, Adam) laughing emojis back and then shoved his phone back under his pillow and sat up. His back cracked and he wondered how the hell that was happening because hello...he was exercising every hour of the day and every second of the night so surely he couldn't be all stiff.  
  
He pulled the covers off and swung his legs over and ran his hands up and down his smooth thighs. Being born pure blonde meant having pure blonde body hair as well as the hair on his head and you could hardly see his hairy legs that weren't even hairy.  
  
Apparently shaving yourself meant losing some weight on yourself aswell. Swimmers done it, bodybuilders done it, even bike racers did it!  
  
He hated that when he sat down, his thighs would squish against the mattress and then together and create one huge flabby thing for Robert to look at. He hated it. Hated his stupid flabby thighs!  
  
He poked at the squishy skin and grabbed a handful of his skin before pulling it about and using both his palms to slide down the sides of his legs and measure out how much flab he had to lose on his legs. He liked his legs, they were long and fit into any pair of jeans he had.  
  
His jeans.  
  
Skinny jeans should tell him if he had lost weight on his legs. He did look around the house the other day for a measuring tape, but he didn't find any. Didn't even know if they owned one.  
  
He walked over to his wardrobe and opened the doors and grabbed his skinnier pair of jeans. He slipped them on and hadn't buttoned them on yet when the door knocked and in walked his dad with an orange in his hand. He looked at Robert dressing himself and handed him the orange.  
  
"Going somewhere?"  
  
Oh God, lie!  
  
"Yeah. The shop. Do we need anything? I just want fresh air...think it'll do me the world of good"  
  
Jack agreed and gave him money and asked him to go buy eggs and milk before he told him he would be working on the farm now and went away. Robert grabbed a t-shirt and walked into Victoria's room because she was the only one who had a full standing mirror. He bent his legs and turned his body at different angles to see if his legs had lost any weight.  
  
His mind told him no, reminded him that he would never lose weight because he's that fat.  
  
His hands however...rolled up the bottom of his skinny jeans slightly to look at his ankles and he ended up using one of Victoria's bobbles to tie around the belt loops of his jeans and pull it and tighten it. He rushed off to the shops after grabbing a jacket and multitasked on the way there by peeling his orange and constantly pulling up his jeans. Even with the bobble tied into it, it didn't seem to help much.  
  
Maybe he had to buy skinnier jeans? They could push his skin so tight together that he would lose weight then?  
  
Ugh, this was so frustrating.  
  
He walked into the shop and picked up a jug of milk and a tray of eggs and when he passed by the tray of oranges, he knew he had to start stocking up on them. He couldn't be 'sick' forever and his dad would recognise sooner than later if he continued to just ask for an orange only that that was all he was eating. He grabbed seven and shoved them in a food bag and bought them with spare change from his school money and walked out the shop.  
  
He didn't expect to see his boyfriend walking in front of him. Granted, Aaron's back was facing him and he hadn't actually seen him yet and to be honest, Robert didn't want Aaron to see him. He was supposed to be too sick for visits. He didn't want to pass on this so called terrible bug to Aaron...  
  
He stepped back a couple of steps backwards and bumped into someone who let out a surprised shout. The surprised shout made Robert jump and not only help in surprise, but he also dropped his entire bag of oranges and they rolled away from him. The person he bumped into turned out to be David who had a hold of the plastic bag Robert nearly dropped and Robert watched him apologise before kneeling down to help pick up some oranges.  
  
If the noise wasn't enough to get Aaron to see him, then that one stupid flippin orange was. One of the oranges rolled along the ground and lightly hit the back of his trainer and he turned around and widened his eyes at the sight.  
  
"Robert!"  
  
Aaron bent down and picked up the orange when he saw his boyfriend holding an entire bag full of them and Robert knew he had to carry on with his long-going charade.  
  
"Aaron? Hey..."  
  
He let out a couple of fake coughs and Aaron patted his back gently before yanking his own hand away. Was Robert always this bony? Was his spine always that spikey? It reminded him of a dinosaur if he was honest.  
  
"W..What are you doing out of school?"  
  
"Someone's only went and blocked the toilets ain't they? Tell you what, that's what I call smart"  
  
Robert gave him a weak fake smile before Aaron eyed the bag he was carrying. He opened his mouth to say something when David returned from the back of the shop with an orange in his hand.  
  
"Here. This one rolled right back in didn't it? Oh, hiya Aaron. Skiving school are we?"  
  
"Still raising the prices of your milk are we? You know I can get two for one pound fifty out of Tescos mate? Total rip-off here..."  
  
David opened his mouth in shock. What cheek!  
  
"Oi! I'll have you know-!"  
  
Aaron blatantly ignored him and turned to Robert.  
  
"Here, gimme a bag, I'll help you-"  
  
Robert yanked the bag away and frowned.  
  
"Aaron, I'm fine. Don't need help. I ain't weak..."  
  
"No, I just offered because you're off school with an extremely bad cold? Remember? Hellooo?"  
  
Robert rolled his eyes and began walking away. Aaron followed him for a couple of seconds until he grabbed the sides of Roberts face and looked carefully.  
  
"You've got colour back, but...you don't look like you've been sleeping. Have you?"  
  
"Not really...just been sick remember"  
  
Aaron nodded as if he was actually agreeing with Robert and watched him stumble over his own feet for a second. He held onto Robert, genuinely worried for him because...Why the hell was he turning grey? Why was he shaking?  
  
Why was he so thin?  
  
Meanwhile Robert was panicking because he couldn't see anything in front of his clouded vision except flashing black dots. One orange didn't seem to be cutting it apparently...  
  
He pushed Aaron away when he tried to help and he frowned a little and waited until his head was clear for him to start moving. Aaron stood beside Robert, hovering a hand behind his back, not touching, just hovering behind it a little to make sure he didn't collapse or something. Was he really about to faint?  
  
Aaron walked Robert through the middle of the village when he heard a shout and he squeezed his eyes shut and hoped she didn't see him standing right here. Unfortunately...she did. Chas.  
  
She spotted her son out of school and shouted him in and off he went much to Robert's happiness. Good. He didn't want Aaron around right now, not when he sunk his teeth into the orange and sucked it dry like a vampire would. He didn't want Aaron to see that he had partly given in to the temptation to eat food in front of him.  
  
He was a stupid ugly cheating fatass...  
  
......  
  
"Hi love, skipping school are we?"  
  
Chas's voice was tight, sounding like a warning as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Aaron reached into his trousers pockets and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper telling her that the school was closed today and she hummed and let it go.  
  
"Alright then. Take it Roberts much better then?"  
  
Aaron nodded.  
  
"Yeah I think so. I mean he still looks crap but I think I'll be allowed to visit him. Think Jack'll let me?"  
  
"If he's able to go out right now then yeah, you should be allowed. Anyways, you can do that later. Spot of lunch sound good?"  
  
Aaron mumbled a yes and walked into the pub with his mum.  
  
.....  
  
He had to force himself to eat one orange and a half because it seemed that the juice of one orange just wasn't enough for his energy levels to keep up for the whole day. So he took another half and he seemed to be ok he guessed.  
  
Robert pushed himself to the max with his exercise, making himself do countless push ups, the ones were his ankles were locked together on the edge of his bed and his hands were on the floor. He did endless sit-ups, using the tiny gap at the bottom of his chest of drawers to slot his feet in. His drawers were at the back of the room so maybe...that was why he didn't see Aaron come in.  
  
No, it was exactly why he didn't see Aaron come on.  
  
Plus he had earphones in, up full blast as they belted out a loud pop tune of Taylor Swift. She had a couple of upbeat ones that kept him going. Aaron sort of just...stood there watching Robert do sit-ups. He looked like he was in so much pain from just making himself sit up and Aaron walked over and tapped him.  
  
Robert jumped and put a hand on his heart when he saw it was just Aaron and calmed himself down quickly. He yanked out his earphones and pressed pause on his phone and gave Aaron a small smile. It was hard to talk right now if you were panting like crazy. Aaron only looked at him worriedly and then cleared his throat.  
  
"Hi...you ok?"  
  
And that was another thing Aaron hated. It had been three days of not seeing his boyfriend and speaking to him right now just sounded...awkward. Like really really awkward. It wasn't supposed to be awkward. Where were all the jokes? All the smiles and the endless teasing? The hello kisses? The goodbye kisses?  
  
Maybe Robert was getting bored of him...  
  
But when he saw a sliver of Roberts stomach from where his t-shirt rode up, as well as the waistband of Roberts jeans, (was that a bobble securing or tightening his jeans?) he was reminded of Priyas weird and serious accusation of an eating disorder.  
  
Did Robert have an eating disorder?  
  
"So...sit-ups? Exercising now?"  
  
Robert nodded.  
  
"Yep"  
  
"Ok...why?"  
  
Roberts glare told him to shut up. Oh yeah, the whole wanting to be fit and healthy thing. Aaron mumbled an apology and sat on Roberts bed and took out a half eaten packet of pretzels from his jacket pocket and began munching on them. Robert loved these...surely he would take at least one?  
  
Aaron shook the packet towards Robert and smiled.  
  
"Want one?"  
  
"Nah I'm alright"  
  
It was so easy to lie to him. So easy to lie to Aaron about eating, about...about wanting to eat but not being able to. It just slipped out his lips with ease now, to tell people he wasn't hungry, he already ate and he either felt sick or ill and looking at food made him queasy.  
  
When had it all started feeling natural?  
  
Aaron shoved the pretzels back into his jacket pocket and took a deep breath. Might as well come out with it, ask and get help if Priyas assumptions were right...  
  
"Robert?"  
  
Robert hummed in question and continued to pant as he did sit up after sit up.  
  
"Can you stop exercising for a second? It's serious..."  
  
Robert froze. Oh. This was it wasn't it? This was the moment when Aaron would turn around and punch him in the face and look down on him with nothing but disgust in his eyes as he called him the same thing over and over again. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat. Fat!  
  
He turned around to face Aaron and nodded slightly. His hands trembled and his stomach felt like it was shaking and burning...though he couldn't be sure if that was because of the lack of food, the exercise or his nerves. It was getting harder to choose what was wrong with him everyday.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Aaron took another feel breath and folded his hands together and sighed.  
  
"You know this whole exercising thing? And the...the not eating?"  
  
"Who says I'm not eating. I am!"  
  
"Woah! I'm not saying someone told me-i thought of it myself!"  
  
Robert frowned at that but let his boyfriend continue. Aaron grabbed a hold of Roberts right arm, tugged it up until he could hold his hand in his and he thumbed the skin there for a couple of moments.  
  
"Do you think maybe...without you realising it...you might be falling into one of those...disorders?"  
  
Robert looked up straight away, eyes widening to the max and he would have choked on his drink if he was even drinking anything right now. Instead, he settled for his...not so smart part of his brain...  
  
His angry side.  
  
"Robert?"  
  
Robert stood up and scoffed.  
  
"I'm sorry, what right do you actually have? To come in here and start straight up asking me if I have any messed up disorders. And I'm guessing you think I've got an eating disorder?!"  
  
Aaron panicked.  
  
"Hold on, I didnt mean to-"  
  
Robert scoffed and walked over to his bedroom door and pulled it open and pointed to it.  
  
"Tell you what, why don't you simply get out, yeah?"  
  
What the hell?!  
  
"Sorry what?! You're kicking me ou-I haven't done anything!"  
  
Robert said nothing, just tapped his foot against the floor as he waited for Aaron to leave. Eventually, Aaron did leave and he turned around and glared at Robert from the hallway.  
  
"Robert, whatever the fuck your problem is, get it sorted right?"  
  
"Sorry Aaron, I'm too busy starving myself to listen to you apparently. Just go home and tell Chas everything so she can give me another lecture, it's all you do anyway"  
  
With that final insult said, Robert slammed his door shut and Aaron just stood there in shock. He heard Robert pant a little inside and he knew he was doing his exercises straight away.  
  
He couldn't believe it. He had actually been thrown out of his boyfriends room? After being together for two years, he was kicked out for trying to help Robert? What had he done wrong?  
  
Or...maybe he had gotten it all wrong and Robert was fine. Robert didn't have an eating disorders and he really did just want to get fit. Maybe he felt like he was being mocked when Aaron asked if he had an eating diso...no.  
  
The bobble tied onto Roberts jeans told him otherwise.  
  
And when he thought about it, weren't those jeans that Robert was wearing...his skinny jeans? The ones that made his butt look nice? They were either stretched out or-no. Just shut up Aaron! There was no trying to convince himself otherwise.  
  
Robert was definitely skinny.  
  
But he didn't know how much...and then...he could just ask Robert to come over to the pub someday. If Robert even wanted to talk to him.  
  
Aaron finally moved his feet from the spot and walked out, shut the front door gently and decided to take a walk around the back. He felt a bit peckish and reached into his pocket only to find...shit. Had he accidentally left his pretzels in Roberts room?  
  
Well...there was no getting those back now.  
  
He phoned Priya and looked up at Roberts window. There were a huge flock of pigeons sitting at the bottom, eating something. Jack hated pigeons. He wasn't feeding them.  
  
He saw the window crack open and watched a couple of small things fall down and land in the exact food pile were all the pigeons stood pecking away.  
  
He walked over and Priya answered and the pigeons flew away.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi. Priya?"  
  
"Aaron, I'm in the middle of studying. What is it?"  
  
Aaron knelt down and sighed when he recognised that the food thrown out were his pretzels and he heard the window click back shut from above.  
  
"Can you do me a favour?"

............................................................

 

**1st June- Monday**

.

.

.  
  
Texts were no longer enough to keep him inspired. He looked at them, bored of their repetitiveness and decided he needed to find new inspiration. He went on Instagram and typed in the search bar meanspo and pressed it only for some weird notification to pop up instead.  
  
  
  
'Can we help?'  
  
Posts with words or tags you're searching for often encourage behaviour that can cause harm or even lead to death. If you're going through something difficult, we'd like to help.  
  
Get support  
See posts anyway  
Cancel  
  
  
  
He almost scoffed at that and pressed see posts anyway. Most of the pictures were of girls...actually...all of them were girls. It showed a lot of the lower half of girls bodies, their waist downwards and most of them wore their undies, showing off their long legs. He pressed on one picture that showed two images parallel to each other. One side was a skinny stomach and the other was...flabby. On the skinny side, in white writing, it said 'Water' and on the fat side it said 'cake'  
  
Robert knew exactly what one he would pick. He saved it to his saved Instagram posts and continued to scroll through them. He ended up making a folder to save all his meanspo and went through his other old saved ones from last year.  
  
Why, why, why did he save videos of how to make certain types of fatty foods? What the hell was going through his mind when he was saving these? It was like he was trying to force himself to be stupid!  
  
Going through more and more, eventually he came to a stop when his dad called him down for breakfast and he knew he had to get up. He walked down and Jack sent him a small smile.  
  
"Morning...you get any sleep?"  
  
Robert only looked at him like he had two heads because...yeah...he sounded like he was talking but his entire body was covered in black dots flashing white and then black and then white...  
  
Jack stepped closer.  
  
"Robert? You ok? You had a long rest at the weekend, so you feeling better?"  
  
Robert only nodded and yawned. His dad said he looked tired didn't he? Great, a perfect excuse. Lying was becoming too easy now.  
  
"Yeah, I just ended up having one of those sleeps where you wake up at like every hour of the night"  
  
"Ah, ok"  
  
Victoria walked downstairs and grabbed the box of cornflakes and poured a lot into her bowl. She added a mountainload of sugar on top and Robert screwed his face up at that.  
  
"Uck, you know it's already full of sugar? You dont need to add anymore you know..."  
  
Victoria only smiled and took a large spoonful, milk spilling out her mouth.  
  
"Oh fut up Wobewt! Fugah i nife!"  
  
Robert grimaced even more. There was probably a time when he would have loved to shove as much food as he could into his mouth and speak, but now? It disgusted him if he was honest.  
  
Jack also sensed her bad manners and coughed without looking up from his newspaper.  
  
"Victoria, manners. Robert, get something to eat will you?"  
  
Victoria swallowed down her cereal and repeated what she said to her brother.  
  
"I said shut up Robert, sugar is nice. You should try it you know, you're starting to get noodle arms"  
  
She snickered at her joke and Robert glared at her before turning around to stomp up to his room. Jack ended up looking up from his paper to take a glance at Roberts arms and raised an eyebrow. He hadn't noticed it before but...his arms had lost weight...  
  
He set his paper down and followed Robert to his room. When he walked in, Robert immediately shouted at him to get out because he was in the middle of putting on his trousers and Jack stepped back quickly. Two seconds later, Robert opened the door and huffed. His tie wasn't done yet.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I just wanted a quick chat...is that alright?"  
  
Robert hesitated but nodded and let his dad walk in. He ended up sitting on the bed and patted the space beside him before Robert reminded him he still had to go to school. Robert paced the room putting on his shoes and socks and fixing his tie when Jack decided he might as well blurt it out.  
  
"Are you trying to lose weight on purpose?"  
  
Robert stopped everything then and gulped. Shit. Had his dad really noticed? Personally Robert couldn't see much change...  
  
"What?"  
  
Jack's cheeks burned red while he thought about what to exactly say. He ended up googling stuff the other day, wondering if gay teen couples had arguments which led to starving themselves but when he accidentally clicked on something called...twinks...  
  
Well...that was awkward.  
  
He thought twinks was short for that disgusting fatty American cake that everyone loved but he thought was disgusting. But instead...twinks were these...young boys who were thin and blonde and...yeah...  
  
He read that people actually starved themselves to look like them so that they could fit into the better role when in bed.  
  
Again, that was an awkward read.  
  
And he might not be educated much on the whole bisexual thing with his son and Aaron, but he still worried at times about their safety. Roberts safety mostly. So he had to ask.  
  
"Just...I did research and don't get mad, but I found this thing called twinks...and...well some of them starve themselves to look like them...I was wondering if...is Aaron making you do this? To fit into a better...umm...role?"  
  
Robert blushed red and for the first time in a good while, he was speechless.  
  
What?!  
  
He had so many questions. His dad didn't know Roberts real reason? His dad googled twinks? Had his dad seriously been spending his spare time looking up gay stuff? Was his dad secretly gay himself?  
  
Robert had to laugh at that. Obviously his dad wasn't. He was an old and classy man, stuck to the old ways and that was that. I mean come on, it took Robert years to convince his dad to use an electric toothbrush because they worked so much better and Jack had said that there was nothing wrong with a normal plain toothbrush.  
  
Until he took a look at Roberts teeth and ever since then, it had been electric toothbrushes all the way.  
  
"No dad. Aaron isn't forcing me to starve myself because I am not starving myself in the first place! I thought I told you already..."  
  
"Right. Right...your mother...I'm sorry..."  
  
Robert only rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag and walked out his room. He went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, relieved his bladder and checked his weight on the scales.  
  
Nine and a half stone...success!  
  
He was nine and three quarters on Saturday. So...this was a huge success!  
  
He pumped his fist in the air and stepped off them before having to grab onto the edge of the sink for balance. There they were again, the black dots in front of his face, in front of his vision, taking up all of them. He actually felt a little sick...  
  
But he knew he couldn't skip anymore school no matter how long he wanted to. Suspicions would arise between his dad and then Aaron would stick his nose in and-oh. Aaron.  
  
He had to apologise to him actually. Tell him he still loved him and he was sorry for throwing him out. He checked his bag once more, making sure his gym kit was inside for the fitness room today and walked downstairs. His hand hovered over the handle when Jack shouted after him.  
  
"Robert?!"  
  
"Oh great...WHAT?!"  
  
"You getting breakfast?!"  
  
He walked downstairs and looked at Robert and Robert simply reached over to the fruit bowl and grabbed an apple. He wiggled it to show his dad the food and walked out on his way to Aaron's. He chucked the apple in the bin on the way and walked right on in, immediately spotting Chas in her housecoat and cup of tea in hand.  
  
"Oh. Robert? Feeling better are we?"  
  
"Yeah I am. You look hungover..."  
  
She chuckled and snapped back at him with a glare and a sarcastic response as per usual.  
  
"Thanks. You sure know how to put a smile on my face don't you?"  
  
Aaron walked downstairs and Robert turned around with a sad look on his face.  
  
"Aaron...look, I just wanted to say-"  
  
Aaron widened his eyes and grabbed the sides of Roberts face and gave him a huge kiss on the lips. He pulled away and waved to his mum before dragging Robert out. Robert however, was still on bloody cloud nine from that...kiss...  
  
"Uhh..."  
  
"Sorry. Look, I haven't told mum about Friday. And I'm not going to. She's stressed enough as it is..."  
  
Oh. So he hadn't forgave him yet had he,  
  
Robert nodded and kicked a stone on the ground. It hit the wheel of someone's car and Aaron tapped his shoulder to gain hid attention.  
  
"Robert I'm sorry...for...for-"  
  
"No. I'm sorry...I'm just going through all these weird crazy moods and I don't like doing that to you, you know. I just want to fucking punch myself everytime I do and-"  
  
Aaron gave him a small smile and leaned in for a hug. He felt Robert kiss the top of his head as Aaron looped his arms around Roberts waist, sliding his hands underneath the back of Roberts backpack. He sighed and tried not to think about the feeling of Roberts bones through his shirt and blazer.  
  
Robert looked around and then smirked at his boyfriend before nudging his head in the direction of the large field beside them. The cricket pavilion sat on top of it, abandoned and alone since nobody used it.  
  
"So...do you wanna skip?"  
  
Aaron raised an eyebrow. Since when did Robert like skipping school? He never liked skiving since he wanted to get amazing grades for his final year. Exams were in two months...two months left of school.. how scary...  
  
"Skip? You drunk or summat!"  
  
"Nah. I do have the occasional fag here and there though"  
  
Aaron couldn't tell if Robert was joking. He knew smoking made people lose weight because it increased their metabolism system or something like that, but Robert didn't actually start smoking to lose weight did he? Thankfully, Robert let out a laugh and began pulling Aaron towards the pavilion. He shut the door behind them and made sure to give Aaron a kiss.  
  
"So am I forgiven then? For Friday?"  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, you are. If...you share another kiss with me and get your clothes off"  
  
Robert chuckled.  
  
"I can do that"  
  
They ended up having sex in the cricket pavilion, something new that they had both experienced...outdoor sex. And since they had been together for two whole years, coming up for three in a few months, Aaron knew already what it felt like to have sex with Robert.  
  
Robert who was...gentle but hard and firm when it came to it. He would make jokes and laugh and make sure Aaron laughed before anything happened and this time...it was different.  
  
Because as soon as Robert took his top off, Aaron couldn't help but stare in shock at his stomach, watching it cave in and out as he breathed and he wished Robert would stop breathing out because then his stomach wouldn't move so far back behind his ribs!  
  
The other thing about them having sex was that Robert just didn't seem to be in the proper headspace at first. He barely looked at Aaron and he was just...breathless during the entire thing. It looked like Robert was in pain everytime he moved and Aaron didn't miss the feeling of Roberts thin legs rubbing against his own.  
  
Straight after they had orgasmed, Robert was exhausted and usually he would stay up and talk more with Aaron, but this time he fell straight asleep against the unused yoga mats and under the unused sleeping bags. Nobody used this pavillion for anything other than storage or a nearby bin if they were lazy.  
  
"Robert?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Come on. Let's get dressed yeah? Incase anybody comes in?"  
  
Robert groaned and then turned his body to face Aaron's. He watched Aaron stand up and shove on his boxers and he couldn't help but let out a laugh. Aaron turned to him with a smile of his own.  
  
"What you laughing at?"  
  
Robert shook his head.  
  
"Nothing"  
  
"Good"  
  
Aaron paused before continuing with a softer lower voice.  
  
"I've missed you..."  
  
"Missed me? We live literally five minutes away from each other"  
  
"Yeah but, it just-nevermind"  
  
Robert grabbed his ankle and smiled.  
  
"Go on. You can't just stop halfway..."  
  
Aaron sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure if saying this would offend Robert, and he knew he was sensitive at the moment with his...diet. Plus he didn't want to ruin their moment because for now, it felt like he had experienced the old Robert, the old and good times.  
  
"Well...yeah I know. But what I mean is...like we haven't been...close close. You know?"  
  
"We literally had sex like five minutes ago..."  
  
"Its not just about the sex Robert. Shut up....It's about like...us? You hardly stay over anymore..."  
  
Robert grabbed his boxers and ruffled his hair with his free hand. He slipped them on and grabbed his school trousers, patting any dust off of them. Aaron saw the bobble tied around the belt loop once again...  
  
He shoved on...Aaron's school shirt before buttoning it up and Aaron raised an eyebrow. Had he ruined the moment?  
  
"You're wearing my shirt Rob..."  
  
Robert pulled on the collar with a large grin.  
  
"I know. Problem?"  
  
And how could Aaron be mad at him when he gave him that smile?  
  
So all Aaron did was grab Roberts shirt and chuckle at the large size on him. God...this barely fit him, yet it fit Robert to a tee...  
  
Now though, when Aaron looked at Robert wearing his shirt, he realised that...Robert fit into his shirt...his shirt that should be too small for Robert to fit into yet...  
  
It fit like a glove.  
  
A big glove that was too big for Robert...  
  
"Aaron? Mind if I stay over at yours tonight? Try out that bed again?"  
  
Aaron nodded and agreed before smiling into the kiss Robert gave him. Aaron accidentally tripped over a sleeping bag and quick stepped backwards and ended up with his back against the wall. Aaron took another step and then froze when he heard a squish sound beneath his feet.  
  
And then he felt something wet and slimey and he looked down and...  
  
"Oh for fuck-!"  
  
"You did not just step on my condom..."  
  
Aaron covered his face with both of his hands to muffle his frustrated scream and Robert laughed.  
  
"It's ok...I'm pretty sure it happens to everyone..."  
  
Aaron removed his hands and glared at his boyfriend.  
  
"Seriously? That's the best you could come up with?"  
  
"Did you know that apparently...sixty seven percent of men living in the Dales step on used condoms? They're all called Aaron Dingle and-"  
  
Aaron pinched Roberts sides and Robert let out a loud shout of pain before crumbling to the floor, eyes rolled back and he was just...silent.  
  
And Aaron fucking panicked.  
  
"Robert?!"  
  
Aaron kneeled down beside him and rested a hand behind Roberts neck, scared to touch him. He was so thin. He was shaking all over...was he having a fit?! A seizure?!  
  
"Oh my god...Robert! Robert what's happened?!"  
  
He continued to shake and tremble all over and Aaron knew he had to call someone. Anyone! The ambulance would be sensible but what if they told him to stay on the phone? Then that meant he couldn't call his mum and ask her to help. She would know what to do. Right?  
  
He whipped out his phone and called his mum and put it on loudspeaker beside his knees.  
  
"Aaron? You're supposed to b-"  
  
"Mum! You need to come to the pavilion! Please hurry! I dunno what's happened! It's Robert! I think he's having a fit!"  
  
"What?! Ok, ok, I'll be there in two tics love! Call an ambulance and don't touch him ok?!"  
  
He whimpered out an ok before she hung up and he removed his hand from the back of Roberts neck to touch his phone again. He dialled 999 and waited and waited.  
  
Robert stopped trembling and shaking. His eyes were fully closed and...no...He wasn't dead was he?  
  
Aaron panicked even more.  
  
He widened his eyes and immediately sobbed as he explained to the lady on the other side of the phone what happened. Thankfully Robert wasn't dead. Good. His rising chest of bones proved that fact indeed.  
  
It was literally three minutes but it felt like hours when Chas arrived and she looked at Aaron and then Robert. She kneeled down in front of Roberts head and put a hand on her son's shoulders.  
  
"Right...It's Ok love. Look, he's breathing, he's fine...he'll be fine"  
  
"Mum, I dunno what happened! Is he ok?!"  
  
"He's fine. He'll be perfect, just wait and see. Right, I'm gonna call Jack. Tell him his son's here..."  
  
She took out her phone and called Jack as fast as she could, telling him to hurry up and come down as fast as he could. The paramedics showed up before him and they rushed in and checked over Robert. One had black hair and the other was ginger. Aaron took the time before they came, to shove on his socks and shoes after wiping his feet on the unused sleeping bags. He watched them put Robert on a stretcher and the ginger man looked at the black haired one.  
  
"He's very light..."  
  
"Yeah...excuse me? Has he always been this frail? How old did you say he was again?"  
  
Chas stuttered out the answers and Aaron sniffled.  
  
"He said he went on a diet plan but he's been overdoing it...!"  
  
"Alright. Thanks"  
  
That moment was when Jack rushed over, out of breath and his hat was falling over to one side. He was covered in dry mud and he took one look at Robert before freaking out.  
  
"Robert! My son! What's happened to him?!"  
  
Chas put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Jack, go with them, yeah? We'll come up later and explain everything ok?"  
  
Jack nodded and rushed into the back of the ambulance, tears streaming down his face as he watched his son lie unconscious in the vehicle. Once it began driving, and drive over a couple of bumps, Robert slowly opened his eyes and he looked around, confused as ever.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Robert! Rob-he's ok!"  
  
Robert tried to sit up only for Jack to firmly press a hand on his shoulder to guide him back down.  
  
"Don't. Just lie down...we're getting you to hospital..."  
  
"Hospital?! What...what for?! I'm fine!"  
  
"You're not fine so stop saying that!"  
  
Robert stopped talking straight after that, panicking and shaking as he lay there and tried to come up with a million lies and stories that would be convincing enough to try and hide his...weight.  
  
Maybe they would say he was too fat? And he had to go on a diet?  
  
"Where's Aaron?"  
  
Jack sighed, having calmed down now.  
  
"He's back at the pavillion. He and Chas are coming up later to see you ok?"  
  
"Right...I am going home though aren't I?"  
  
Jack said nothing. How was he supposed to answer a question that he didn't even know himself?  
  
.......  
  
When Aaron and Chas arrived at the hospital, Chas walked right up to Jack and gave him a huge hug and sighed.  
  
"How is he?"  
  
Jack shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"He's 18 so he's officially an adult to them. I can't go in apparently...they said it was like a seizure or something? From hardly eating and dehydration. That's all I've got but they're still talking to him"  
  
"Yeah? Well that's good. He's ok then!"  
  
Aaron looked between them before he rubbed his eyes.  
  
"So...so...so he's definitely ok?"  
  
Jack looked at Aaron and glared at him.  
  
"Yeah. He's fine. By the way, what were yous both doing? At the pavillion when yous should be at school? Robert doesn't skip so you've definitely had a part in this-"  
  
Chas stepped in immediately.  
  
"Oi! Don't you dare insinuate that this was his fault! Aaron told me that Robert was the one who wanted to skip actually!"  
  
Jack huffed and turned around when he heard his name being called. All three of them walked over and the doctor smiled at him sadly.  
  
"Jack Sugden? Robert Sugdens dad?"  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, that's me. What's happened? Is he alright?"  
  
"He's fine, don't worry. We've put an IV drip in him though, to get him some liquids back into his body. He wasn't a fan of that though...think he's a little scared. So if you want to pop inside and see how he is? And in a couple hours, he should be fine and ready to go home!"  
  
Chas smiled and patted her son and Jack's back. She let out a breath of relief and Jack walked inside to go see Robert. The doctor patted Chas's arm and looked down at Aaron.  
  
"Are you...the boyfriend then?"  
  
Aaron nodded.  
  
"Ok, if you don't mind, can we ask you a few questions? About Robert?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Chas raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Uh, hold on a second, what's this about? We've already told you everything about Robert..."  
  
"It's just that you mentioned to the paramedics that Robert started a diet plan? Can you tell me what kind of diet plan? This might help us?"  
  
Aaron had to think for a second until he realised what this could mean. Didn't people who had mental health issues get dragged away to those crazy hospitals? And he knew if he mentioned that Robert had a possible eating disorder then Robert would never forgive him, nor would he be here in Emmerdale ever again. He would be taken away to a crazy hospital. Forever.  
  
"Uh...yeah. He's just been eating a lot of veg, turned vegan actually..."  
  
The doctor nodded and made a mental note of that in his head. Aaron ignored the look he got from his mum and walked into the room with Robert. Jack sat beside the bed and Robert had a bit of colour back into his cheeks. He sighed and squeezed Roberts hand, the one that didn't have the drip inside and Robert smiled.  
  
"Aaron? You alright?"  
  
Aaron nodded and sat down. He looked at Roberts hand and Chas tapped Jack's shoulder to bring him outside the room to talk. Robert rolled his eyes and leaned back in his bed.  
  
"How you feeling?"  
  
Robert chuckled.  
  
"Weird actually. There's a huge needle up here, look"  
  
Robert showed him his hand and Aaron made a face of disgust. Robert tapped his forearm.  
  
"I can feel like cold ice water run up my arm...so weird..."  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Oi, what's up?"  
  
Aaron scoffed.  
  
"Nothing, just frightened out my life? I did just watch my boyfriend collapse and have a seizure in front of me so I dunno...just scared..."  
  
"I'm sorry..."  
  
"Robert, you're not eating. Or drinking..."  
  
Robert groaned and bent his knees slightly. Not this conversation again...  
  
"Aaron, just leave it..."  
  
"I lied to the doctors you know. Told them you're not starving yourself...you've turned vegan. Robert please...can't you see what this is doing to you? You're in hospital for God's sake..."  
  
"I'm fine. Look, I just overdid it a bit. That's all. I'll start eating if you want? Just don't tell anyone...promise me"  
  
"I'm sorry Robert-"  
  
"I'll break up with you if you tell them"  
  
Aaron froze, horrified that Robert had even said that to him. He knew it. Robert would hate him forever if he told the doctors the truth. The fact that Robert used their relationship as blackmail?  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm serious..."  
  
......  
  
Chas sighed and looked in the window at the two boys talking. She turned to Jack and crossed her arms.  
  
"I think...you need to keep an extremely close eye on Robert when he's out..."  
  
"What you on about?"  
  
"Robert...I dunno if he's told you about this new diet plan of his? He's not eating Jack. He's not eating at all...according to Aaron. And before you ask, no he's not been eating breakfast at ours, or dinner, or any snacks I give him..."  
  
"So what-you think he's starving himself?"  
  
She only nodded and looked through the window towards Robert and Aaron. She was about to walk in when Aaron stood up and stormed out, Chas running after him and calling out his name.

..........................................................

 

**9th June- Tuesday**

.

.

.  
  
Broken up.  
  
That's what happened between them.  
  
That's what happened at the hospital when they spoke, when Robert threatened to break up with him and Aaron knew...he knew he couldn't continue to be in this kind of relationship. He didn't know what to do. Did he tell everyone about Robert? Did he tell everyone about his condition and everything that had been happening?  
  
He couldn't.  
  
Not if it meant he would be taken away from him forever, in a crazy mental health hospital where they gave everyone straightjackets and locked them up in padded rooms. He couldn't do that to Robert, but he could make him see that if Aaron wasn't with him, he would struggle more on his own.  
  
So in a way, he was kind of...punishing him? Sort of?  
  
The day after they had broken up, Aaron told his mum in tears over his bowl of cornflakes during breakfast and Paddy was the one to suffer his anger when he threw his bowl at the large man. He stormed upstairs and cried and refused to come out and if his mind did tell him he was acting like a girl, he told it to fuck right off because he deserved to act like whatever the hell he wanted.  
  
Chas gave him constant updates on Robert, telling him when he came out of hospital, how he is now, that Jack's keeping a very close eye on him.  
  
She told him Robert would go back to school soon because apparently he still wasn't feeling any better and Aaron knew that was bullshit straight away. He knew of Roberts methods, saw how he took any spare time he had to turn it into exercising. Aaron had a serious urge to tell Jack about Robert throwing away his food out the window at the back but there was no evidence because the pigeons and seagulls were having a feast.  
  
But he didn't.  
  
Because that stupid thought of a crazy hospital flew in his mind.  
  
He didn't want anybody to take Robert to a crazy place. He googled it! They literally took you away to some place and you weren't even allowed your earphones because apparently that was a hazard. You weren't even allowed your phone either!  
  
And Robert couldn't live without his phone.  
  
God.  
  
Aaron couldn't believe this was all a week ago.  
  
......  
  
So now here he was, half eaten sandwich in his hands as he stared down at his half full plastic tub. His mum had accidentally made extra sandwiches like she usually did for Robert, despite her knowing they had broken up. Then again, it was hard to break a habit after two years wasn't it?  
  
Adam did try his best to cheer Aaron up, only for Aaron to nudge him away and block him out straight away. It didn't help that Adam was Roberts sisters boyfriend so...yeah...it meant Victoria was still around.  
  
And there was barely any conversation because why would there be? What would they talk about? Aaron couldn't exactly randomly spit out 'Oh! How's Robert doing? Gained any weight yet?! By the way, tell him I miss him and-just no!'  
  
Victoria kicked Aaron's foot from underneath the table and coughed into her hands loudly. Adam pointed at something behind Aaron and Aaron frowned and turned around. There was only one boy he knew that wore expensive aftershave and poncy Apple shampoo...  
  
Aaron turned his head and glared at the boy.  
  
"What is it Robert?"  
  
Robert sighed and tapped the toe of his shoes against the floor twice.  
  
"Can we talk?"  
  
Aaron shrugged his shoulders and turned back around and took another large bite of his sandwich.  
  
"Text me it. You'll probably get a faster response"  
  
"No. I wanna talk in person. Aaron please?"  
  
Aaron let out a deep breath.  
  
"I'm trying to eat lunch. Tell me later yeah?"  
  
This time Adam grabbed Victoria's shoulder and they both stood up. Aaron raised an eyebrow and Adam rolled his eyes.  
  
"Here. If you're not gonna go, then we'll go"  
  
Great. The guilt tripping card. Ugh!  
  
Aaron groaned and unzipped his bag to stuff his tub inside. He slung it over his shoulders and glared hard at Robert who was still patiently waiting on him. Aaron tutted and walked away out of the cafeteria and into the corridors. He walked up to the maths corridor where the stairs led to the library there and stood on the steps. No one came here most of the time after all.  
  
"So what is it?"  
  
Robert shrugged his shoulders when Aaron groaned.  
  
"Did you seriously drag me here just so you could say you don't know? Robert, I'm not in the mood so jus-"  
  
"How are you?"  
  
He could only gawk at Robert. Was he serious? He was asking him how he was?! Not that he had just been dumped or anything but-oh wait. He was!  
  
"Seriously? You're seriously fucking asking me i-!"  
  
"Ok, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry...I miss you..."  
  
Robert stroked the side of Aaron's arm only for Aaron to pull back and Robert sighed.  
  
"I was a dick..."  
  
"Still are..."  
  
"Oh come on, I'm trying here..."  
  
"Sure you are. Be nice to me for today and then tomorrow you'll be back at your yelling and throwing me out the house stage...I'm not going through all your crazy stages ok? Its not fair!"  
  
Robert stepped closer towards Aaron and he sighed. True, everything Aaron said was true, but Robert didn't see it. He didn't see the way he yelled at Aaron recently...never did see it in the heat of the moment. But when the heat was over, everything would come to a sudden realisation in his brain and then he would realise how much of an asshole he was. He never even remembered shouting at Aaron until quite recently...what the hell had changed?  
  
It wasn't his fault.  
  
He couldn't control his moods sometimes...  
  
"I know. But you need to know I'm really really sorry...look, the hospital thing scared us, scared me and you. And I lashed out because I thought you told dad-"  
  
"You said if I tell them, you're breaking up with me. What kind of relationship is that?"  
  
"A shit one?"  
  
Aaron nodded.  
  
"Yeah...yeah, it is a shitty one. Was a shitty one..."  
  
"I don't wanna break up with you"  
  
"Neither do I Robert. But you didn't really leave me anything but that option...you did. Not me. You"  
  
Robert looked down at his feet and nodded. He sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeves and Aaron chewed on the inside of his cheek before looking away. This was so much harder in person rather than the hospital.  
  
"So what? We're definitely not together then?"  
  
Aaron shrugged.  
  
"I dunno. I guess? I still like you...but-"  
  
"But you don't wanna be with me?"  
  
"Rob I do! I really do...but...I don't think you're in the right state of mind to be in a relationship, you know? You need to...to sort out whatever's going on first..."  
  
"But...but what if I can't fix it?"  
  
"Then talk to someone about it...I'm always available..."  
  
Robert sniffed again and wiped his nose with his sleeve. Weird, it was usually wintertime when his sleeves would go all crusty with snot, never the summer. Still though. He didn't think he had ever cried this much in public, this much in...well ever really. Stupid Aaron making him into some stupid softie.  
  
"We're definitely done then?"  
  
Aaron tried to pretend like he didn't hear the crack in Roberts voice. He tried to pretend he didn't see how hurt Robert looked, tried to ignore the glassy look in his eyes...  
  
He turned his head away and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He used his fingers to fully dry his eyes and slowly nodded. He forgot to clear his throat though and that probably explained his own voice crack.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah...we are. Maybe...maybe in like ten years time or summat, we can...I dunno, talk it over? Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah. Sounds good..."  
  
"Right...well I've got class soon...I'll see you around. Yeah?"  
  
Robert nodded and leaned back against the wall when Aaron leaned in for a hug and Aaron hated, oh he hated how much of Robert he could feel through his layer of clothes. He clung onto him tighter and secretly kissed the top of his shoulder. The blazers that Robert had to wear had padded shoulders so thankfully he couldn't feel it.  
  
He definitely felt Roberts kiss on his head though. Heard it even.  
  
Aaron took a step back as he pulled away from the hug and he scoffed.  
  
"Look at us. Right pair of muppets we are ain't we?"  
  
Robert rubbed his eyes before taking another step up higher. He had study next anyways so...  
  
"Yeah. Umm...I'll see you around then?"  
  
"Yeah. I'll see you"  
  
"Bye then..."  
  
"Bye"  
  
"Bye"  
  
Robert walked into the library and he walked to the back where he found a study desk already set up. The boards that the desk had if people sat exams there or something, he pulled up and hid his face behind it and cried. He felt his phone vibrate and took that out and read the new messages he had received.  
  
'Still not killed yourself then?'  
'Kys'  
'Fatty'  
'Ugly and fat'  
'Disgusting'  
  
And there were more...  
  
'Stupid'  
'Deserve to die'  
'Jump off a bridge or something'  
'Nobody likes you'  
  
And more...  
  
'Fat'  
'Retard'  
'Cheater'  
  
And more.  
  
'Just kill yourself already. Lol'  
  
And for the first time in a long long while...he cried over the messages.  
  
........  
  
He walked home with his earphones in and his music up full blast. Turns out Max Schneiders Beautiful Creatures didn't cheer him up like it usually did this time. His dad had been calling him like every single two minutes but he couldn't be bothered talking to him over the phone at the moment, so he ignored them all.  
  
As soon as Robert stepped into his house, he was grabbed by the front of his shirt and slammed against the door. He let out a shout of pain because damn, that fucking hurt like hell, and he opened his eyes and saw...  
  
"Andy get off me!"  
  
"It's you! You fucking put tha-!"  
  
"Andy! Get off him! Now!"  
  
Jack pulled Andy off of Robert and yanked his earphones out and stepped in between them. He glared at Robert and huffed angrily.  
  
"You've got a lot of explaining to do!"  
  
"Explaining? Explaining what?! The fact that he nearly killed me?! Andy, You're a psycho! Did you not see that?!"  
  
Andy scoffed and pointed an angry finger towards Robert.  
  
"See Dad?! He's even mocking me! It's definitely him! You stupid idiot Robert!"  
  
Robert only watched as Andy screamed at him angrily and when he had managed to properly calm down because all he could hear was his own loud heartbeat, he took a deep breath and looked at his dad for help.  
  
"Dad? What the hell's happened?"  
  
Andy opened his mouth to talk when Jack shushed him immediately and Andy whipped out his phone and tapped a couple of things and found it. He gave it to Jack who showed Robert what was on the screen and Robert paled.  
  
Because on the screen was an Instagram account, the profile picture was plain black with a white question mark and there was a post that had tagged Andy on it. On the post, was a picture of a random fire and underneath, the caption was 'Andy Sugden - murderer? Conclusion - gravestone of me and Victoria's mother? Yes. Andy Sugden- forever a murderer. Will die a murderer.'  
  
Robert looked up at both of them and widened his eyes.  
  
"This isn't me!"  
  
Jack growled at him and snatched the phone off of Robert to give it back to Andy.  
  
"Of course it's you! This family is the only ones who know! Andy is not a murderer Robert! It was an unfortunate accident and you know it!"  
  
"But he did kill mum! I'll agree with that! But I didn't post-!"  
  
Jack gave Robert a right slap for that, across the face and he shook his head, purely disappointed in his son. Andy stormed away, too angry to even breathe the same air as Robert, angry that he had even come up with something as ridiculous as this!  
  
"Dad, I swear I haven't..."  
  
"I've been through Victoria aswell. I know she didn't do it. You on the other hand...you've always had a weird vengeance against Andy. Always had this...this immense jealousy over him! And you know what? I'm sick of the sight of you! Get out! Go over to your boyfriends for the night for all i care Robert!"  
  
Robert didn't even get a chance to speak before his dad was storming off once again. He stomped up to his own room and slammed the door shut. His dad hadn't actually threatened to kick him out...did he?  
  
He changed out of his school uniform into his own clothes and felt his phone vibrate. He knew who it was without looking at it.  
  
He took it out and was surprised when he saw that Priya was actually calling him and he answered it with a low voice.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Robert? This is definitely you?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Good! I just want to make sure I'm talking to the right asshole on the other end! What the hell is your problem?!"  
  
Oh great. Now Priya? What the hell was she getting on his case for now?  
  
"Priya what the hell are you on about?"  
  
"Writing creepy posts about me on Instagram?! You're disgusting! That's why you joined the fitness club?! You know what? I really hope you get your comeuppance one day and hopefully soon! You're banned from the fitness club too! Asshole!"  
  
She hung up and Robert scoffed. What post was she talking about? The fake Instagram account?  
  
He didn't even have time to read the username, just scanned the picture and that was that. He was so so tired, exhausted even. He just wanted to lie in his bed and fall asleep...though with his dad and Andy in the next room, he doubted he would get any of that.  
  
Taking out his wallet, he checked for his bank card and then actual money notes in the slots. He found one twenty pound note there and decided that was definitely enough and once he had tied his shoelaces together, he walked out. He went straight downstairs and into the liquor cabinet and grabbed his dad's special occasion whiskey he kept for pure celebrations.  
  
He walked out the house, slamming the door extra hard to prove...some point and walked around the back. He looked through his texts once more and when he received new ones, reminding him yet again to die over and over, he threw the cap away and began downing the bitter drink, throat burning on fire with each gulp.  
  
......  
  
Chas was halfway through a bag of peanuts whilst she looked around at the empty pub. The place was bare at eight O'Clock, hardly anyone coming in today and there wasn't much to talk about since all the gossip had died down a lot.  
  
She would talk to Aaron, but he was busy on his phone beside her. She peeked over and when she saw that it was a rather...sexy image of a girl, she snatched it out his hands.  
  
"Oi! Mum give it back!"  
  
"What the hell are you looking at?! Isn't that Priya?"  
  
Aaron snatched it back off of her and glared at his mum. She was way too nosy sometimes...always jumping into conclusions head first.  
  
"Mum shut your gob will you?"  
  
"Uh-!"  
  
"It's just something going around school apparently. Don't worry, nothing to do with me"  
  
"Right...well don't look at anything like that again...I thought you didn't like stuff like that..."  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes before making a face of disgust when he realised what she was talking about.  
  
"Oh mum! No, she's not-I'm not interested in stuff like that. I told you, just a weird picture going around..."  
  
"Right...well if that's all it is...by the way, you sure you don't want Marlon to whip you up something? You didn't have anything to eat love..."  
  
Aaron ignored her and reached his hand into the bag of peanuts Chas held. He grabbed another two large pinches of them before she sighed and gave him the rest and told him to finish them off. Dry Roasted peanuts were his favourite after all.  
  
She was just about to say something when the door slammed open and a young laugh entered. The boy stumbled in and settled down on a bar stool and set down a crumpled up tenner. Robert...  
  
"Chas, do me a favour? Give me a...a huge pint please!"  
  
Aaron widened his eyes at the sight in front of him. Completely shit faced Robert...  
  
Chas just looked equally as shocked and took the tenner and handed it back to him. Although he might not be Aaron's boyfriend anymore, it didn't mean she would stop caring about Robert...  
  
"Love, I don't mean to sound like a bore but-"  
  
Robert smacked the counter with his hand and laughed loudly.  
  
"A bore! You know thatsha pig? With the...the devil horns or summathin?"  
  
Aaron raised an eyebrow.  
  
"How many you had mate?"  
  
"Look, love. Just go home yeah? You're steaming and you've got school tomorrow. Do you want water?"  
  
Robert completely ignored her and rose to his feet to stand beside the stool. He leaned over the counter and looked like he was ready to cry.  
  
"I'm not your mate Aaron...I can't be. I'll never be..."  
  
"Robert, don't. Don't cause a scene...."  
  
"You know I love you! I've always loved you! Me and you! Forever and ever! You can't leave me on my own..."  
  
Chas grabbed Roberts shoulder firmly before looking at his face.  
  
"Oh my-did you get into a fight?!"  
  
Aaron scrunched his eyebrows together and stood up and looked at the side of Roberts face where it was slowly purpling.  
  
"Robert what the hell have yo-"  
  
Robert grabbed his phone and went onto Yotube where he pressed a video and he turned the volume up to the highest it could go. Time of my life from the Dirty Dancing movie started playing and Robert gave Aaron a sad smile.  
  
"Come on. This is a classic! You know all the words! Don't lie!"  
  
Chas grabbed his shoulder and shook him gently.  
  
"Look, come through the back, we'll call Jack and get you home, yeah?"  
  
Robert glared at her, completely forgetting about his phone sitting on the counter. He shoved her hand off his shoulder and Aaron went into protective mode immediately, incase Robert was a little...unpredictable during his drunkenness...  
  
"Robert what you doing?! Come through the back with me and mum yeah? We'll...we'll talk..."  
  
Robert wiped his eyes. Why had he started crying?  
  
"Ok...ok...yeah. I'll...yeah ok"  
  
Robert stumbled around the bar and Chas grabbed Roberts phone and switched it off as Aaron guided Robert through to the back. He sat Robert down on the couch when Robert leaned in for an obvious kiss and Aaron pulled away before he could reach his destination.  
  
Robert actually pouted, pouted like a baby would and he ran a hand through his hair and leaned back on the couch. Chas got him a glass of water and sighed.  
  
"I'll go make some calls...to...well..."  
  
She mouthed the word Jack to Aaron who nodded and she left the room. Aaron tutted and helped Robert out his jacket. He was sweating!  
  
"Why? Why go get completely drunk like that? You can barely walk..."  
  
Robert cried then, into the back of Aaron's shoulder and he brought his knees up to the couch only for his ankles to miss the edge and land back on the floor. So he was sitting on the couch crying with his hands on his face.  
  
"I'm fat!"  
  
Aaron shook his head.  
  
"No you're not Robert. You're...you're so skinny...it's scary. You looked amazing before you started this...this diet plan of yours. You looked perfect..."  
  
"But I jus-"  
  
He wrapped an arm around the back of Roberts neck and leaned in for a hug like he had done earlier in school.  
  
"Robert come on...you'll be fine. You'll get help and you'll get better and you'll be fine...Look at yourself. It's a Tuesday...and you're steaming, on a school night. You're not gonna make it in tomorrow..."  
  
"I will-"  
  
"No you won't"  
  
Chas walked in by then and she shook her head towards Aaron. Aaron raised an eyebrow in silent question and she shook her head again.  
  
"I've made some calls...it looks like he'll be staying here tonight...but tomorrow I'll be having words with him..."  
  
"Right. Mum, go get the blanket at the bottom of my bed will you? And my pillow"  
  
She walked upstairs and Aaron nudged Robert on the side.  
  
"Is it true? You made that Instagram account? Robert what the hell are you thinking?"  
  
Robert didn't answer him. Instead, he ran towards the sink, hitting his hip on the corner as he stumbled on his way over and threw up loudly into the sink. Aaron only wondered if it was a good thing he was throwing up in the first place. It might be alcohol, yeah, but if that stayed in Roberts body then maybe it would add something else to Roberts non-existent weight.  
  
Aaron finally stood up and walked over to Robert to rub his back soothingly.  
  
"It's ok..."  
  
"I don feel ok..."  
  
"Yeah well...that's what happens when you drink...whatever the hell you drunk tonight?"  
  
"I love you! It's not fair! Don't you think it's unfair?!"  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes and helped Robert over to the couch to sit down. He ran the tap, so it would wash away all the sick and he filled the basin and set it beside Roberts feet. Finally, he got a glass of water and Chas walked down with the items required. She also brought down clothes for Robert to sleep in and Aaron whispered a thank you.  
  
"Mum I'll handle this yeah?"  
  
"No it's alright. I'll do it"  
  
"No mum. He'll freak out with you. No offense...look, we'll be fine...I promise"  
  
She hummed in thought for a moment before finally agreeing and walked out. Aaron sighed and turned to Robert who was holding the glass of water with shaky hands.  
  
.......  
  
"Mum, you sure we can't keep him off school? He's gonna get a batter tomorrow if he goes in..."  
  
"Well that's his fault then isn't it? For posting all that stuff...honestly I don't care. As long as it's nothing about you then I'm fine. Besides, it's Jack you need to ask and he's not exactly on good terms with him right now..."  
  
Aaron bit his lip and sighed. He looked at Robert who was curled up on the couch with his favourite blanket and Aaron's pillow, dressed in Aaron's grey and white long sleeved t-shirt, fast asleep. The basin underneath his head was filled slightly with sick, but the pair of them were too scared to change it right now incase he woke up and threw up over the carpet.  
  
"Is it my fault? He started drinking because I broke up with him?"  
  
"No! No love, definitely not. Look, as you said, Roberts got a load of problems to sort out himself. Nothing to do with you..."  
  
"Yeah well...it started out cause i was jealous of Rebecca wasn't it?"  
  
Chas raised an eyebrow. Now that was a name she hadnt heard in a while. Actually, she hadnt heard in a long time. Rebecca...that was the girl who Aaron accused Robert of cheating with right? Well not cheating but...spending a lot of time together...  
  
"That reminds me...what happened to her? You haven't come home talking about her for a while..."  
  
"Rumours said she's been banging around Ross..."  
  
"You mean hanging?"  
  
"Hanging? Banging? Same thing. Technically same meanings..."  
  
Chas made a face of disgust at that.  
  
"Right...you need to go to bed alright? It's nearly 11, so go"  
  
Aaron sighed. He didn't want to go to bed. He wanted to stay here with Robert, make sure he didn't die of alcohol poisoning or something. That was a thing wasn't it? He wanted to just keep his eye on Robert forever and make sure he had a smile before he could sleep peacefully.  
  
He knelt down at the side of the couch and rested a hand on Roberts hair. It was getting long again, flat against his head and looking like a K-pop boy band member once again. Aaron smiled, he missed this. Feeling Roberts incredibly soft hair...  
  
"Aaron, you need to go to bed. Come on. We'll check on him in the morning and leave the door open so we can hear if he's alright. Ok?"

Aaron sniffed before he finally agreed with a sad sigh.  
  
"Ok. Fine..."

.........................................................

 

**10th June- Wednesday**

.

.

.  
  
When Aaron woke up, it was with Paddy tapping his head and shaking his shoulder. He yawned and sat up on the armchair and Paddy sighed. Aaron looked over to the clock to see that it was only half past six in the morning, time for Paddy to wake up and head to work. He wasn't supposed to be up until seven for school.  
  
"Thought I heard you come down here last night..."  
  
Aaron shrugged and rubbed his eyes. True. He had snuck down last night to sleep in the armchair beside the couch, keeping a very close eye on Robert. He did a bit of googling and apparently someone could pass out in their sleep or even choke on their own tongue, or choke on their own sick...  
  
It was enough to make Aaron paranoid anyways and so, he went downstairs and into the livingroom.  
  
"Yeah...just worried I guess..."  
  
Paddy smiled and flicked the kettle on. He walked over to Robert and shook his shoulder, waking him up.  
  
"Robert? You wanna wake up now?"  
  
Robert groaned and lifted his head slightly before dropping it back down onto the pillow. His hand accidentally dipped itself into the sick basin and he grimaced and sat up with another loud groan. He didn't look well at all. His skin was breaking out in a lot of spots and he looked super sweaty and the skin on his nose was peeling like crazy.  
  
"Hey lazybones...how you feeling?"  
  
Robert shook his head.  
  
"Terrible..."  
  
Great. Even his voice was broken. It was so deep and cracked and felt like it was on fire.  
  
Paddy gave Robert a sympathetic smile.  
  
"You not feeling up to school today then?"  
  
"No. I'm not, but I'm gonna need to go in. Oh...fu...did Dad call?"  
  
"Sorry. He didn't. Chas said she's gonna have words with him today though. And let me tell you, she is not pleased at all"  
  
Paddy chuckled and poured himself a cup of tea. He poured Aaron one and Robert moved so he was sitting up on the couch and Aaron moved off the armchair to sit beside him. Robert leaned his head back on the headrest and sighed.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Aaron rubbed his shoulder and squeezed.  
  
"You dont remember?"  
  
"No. I got kicked out because...oh fuck..."  
  
Aaron sighed.  
  
"Yeah...you might wanna skip today...everyones pissed off at your Instagram account...what the hell were you thinking?"  
  
Robert didn't have it in him to tell Aaron the truth. Tell him that he didn't make it, that he didn't do any of this...but that was pretty hard to do when the world was spinning and the blanket on his knees was ready to jump up at him.  
  
"I wasn't..."  
  
Aaron looked over to Paddy for help when he only shrugged in response and Paddy handed Robert a glass of water and two paracetamol.  
  
"Here. Should help with the hangover..."  
  
Robert mumbled a thanks and took the water and pills and sighed. He only noticed his clothes and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I didn't walk around last night in your clothes did I?"  
  
Aaron chucked.  
  
"No, you didn't. We gave you them last night to make sure you were comfy while sleeping..."  
  
"Oh. Right...school"  
  
"Robert, you're not going in!"  
  
Robert rolled his eyes and threw the blanket off of his knees. He nearly landed his foot in the sick filled basin and picked that up and walked over to the sink to empty it out. He gave it a thorough clean and once he had set it down, Paddy gently grabbed Roberts chin and turned his face to the side.  
  
"Did...did...did your dad do that?"  
  
Robert wriggled his head out of Paddys grip and hovered a hand over his cheek. Paddy saw it was now a yellow colour, meaning it was bruised but it was recovering fairly quickly.  
  
"It's nothing Paddy..."  
  
"Look, I can get you help if-"  
  
"I don't need help Paddy! Ah!"  
  
He put a hand on his forehead, feeling it throb violently and he groaned. Hangovers sucked, that was a definite fact. But he didn't want to miss school...he had to tell everyone that he didn't set up the Instagram account somehow. Tell everyone he was fine and stop himself from getting a right beating up at school today. And if he had to do this during the first and worst hangover in his life, then so be it.  
  
"Look, can I use your shower?"  
  
Aaron nodded and pointed at the door.  
  
"Yeah sure. You don't need to ask..."  
  
"Well, I do don't I?"  
  
Aaron shut up after that and Robert went upstairs to use the shower. He cleaned himself off and dressed back into the clothes Aaron gave him and went into Aaron's room to see if he could find any of his clothes he had left here in the past. He managed to snag a pair of jeans and stripped and put them on.  
  
The door opened and Aaron stopped because...wasn't there some sort of rule about your ex changing in your room? Umm....?  
  
"Oh. Uhh...hi?"  
  
Robert only zipped up his jeans and coughed.  
  
"Mind finding one of my tops?"  
  
Aaron didn't hear him, just stared and stared at Roberts bare top half. He looked...so skinny...and yes, he had thought it all before, especially in the pavillion, but seeing him now. Had it really only been just over a week?  
  
"Aaron?"  
  
Aaron chewed on his bottom lip, a new habit he had gained recently and he nodded and turned to look for a t-shirt or something. He found a jumper Robert left here, one of his geeky star wars ones and he gave that to him.  
  
"So you're definitely coming to school today then?"  
  
"Yeah, have to don't I? Dad'll go ballistic if I don't show, so..."  
  
"You know how you said you don't remember last night? Well I do obviously...do you wanna know what you said?"  
  
Robert slid his jumper on and he decided that no, he did not want to know what he said. He probably embarassed himself and said a couple of stupid things like...like how he still loved Aaron or summat...  
  
Before he could answer, Aaron revealed everything he said last night.  
  
"You said you loved me, said you were fat, played a bit of dirty dancing on your phone and just kept telling me you loved me...apparently you still do..."  
  
Well at least he was sort of right?  
  
"We'll, it's not everyday you get dumped from your boyfriend is it? Especially your boyfriend who you love..."  
  
Aaron scoffed.  
  
"You didn't give me a choice Robert..."  
  
"Didn't I?"  
  
"No, you didn't! You straight up blackmailed me!"  
  
Robert ignored him there and remembered his phone and rushed downstairs, accidentally shoving Aaron on the way. Aaron yelped in surprise and Robert ran into the livingroom to shove his hands down the side of the couch, finding his phone. He winced when he saw that he left his mobile data on and knew that would pop in the phone bill next month...  
  
His dad was gonna kill him. Then again, who cared? His dad already hated him.  
  
He heard a cough and looked up to see Chas sitting at the table with her pink dressing gown on. Paddy gave her a kiss on the cheek and patted Roberts shoulder.  
  
"You know if you ever...and...and I mean ever want to talk to someone, then I'm...I'm...always here t..t..to talk to"  
  
Robert huffed. Why was everyone treating him like some sort of stupid victim? He wasn't a victim! He got struck once! Once against the cheek and for good reason too!  
  
He wasn't thin enough. If he was thin, everyone would see that he tried hard on his appearance and then they would see that Robert tried. He tried hard and he would be rewarded right?  
  
So why the fuck was Aaron flippin out everytime he saw his body?  
  
"Yeah. Whatever Paddy"  
  
Chas scoffed.  
  
"Oi!"  
  
"No Chas it's alright. I'll see you then?"  
  
She waved a goodbye to Paddy and once the door shut, she puffed her cheeks out in annoyance and crossed her arms.  
  
"You could be a bit nicer to Paddy yeah?"  
  
"What did you want me to do? Get on my knees and kiss his feet?"  
  
"No! I wanted you to show him a bit of respect! After the way we took you in last night...your dad will be hearing about this you know?"  
  
Robert found his jacket and slid that on before slipping on his trainers. He tied the laces and when Chas was still staring at him, waiting for an apology, Robert only gave her a look as if to say 'what?' And walked away. He stormed out the back and headed home, ready to start changing himself for school.  
  
.....  
  
Going home sucked. He barely had one foot through the door when his dad went off on one and Andy was still in a huge ass mood with him. Victoria saw Robert and immediately burst into tears for...some reason...  
  
She hugged him tight and she cried into his chest.  
  
"I thought you were going away for good!"  
  
Robert patted her back gently and Jack managed to pry her away from Robert with a gently pull. Robert huffed and hung his jacket up beside the front door and Jack looked at him.  
  
"So you did stay over at your boyfriends then?"  
  
Jack sniffed him, getting a whiff of...pretty disgusting morning breath, sick and of course...alcohol.  
  
"You stink. Take it that's where my whiskey went then? Down your throat?"  
  
Robert shrugged.  
  
"Aaron ain't my boyfriend anymore. But yeah, I did stay over at his. Bet you'll be glad you've finally got your 'straight' son back eh?"  
  
Jack looked at his son and scoffed before turning to face Victoria and Andy.  
  
"Do yous want to head off to school early? Give me and your brother time to talk?"  
  
Andy and Victoria both nodded, not wanting to get in between what would soon be an extremely heated argument and went away to quickly finish getting ready. Jack turned back to Robert and pointed with his finger.  
  
"You on the other hand..."  
  
"What, what do you wanna talk about? Or do you not wanna talk? Wanna hit me instead? Go on, you've got a free shot, give me a matching bruise on my other cheek will you?"  
  
Jack shook his head and rubbed his temples. Robert stepped back and walked further into the livingroom and found a clean shirt of his hanging on the clotheshorse. He took it off and held it in his hands before looking around for any clean black school trousers. He just wanted to go to school, get his usual routine of his morning walking exercise and make amends with everybody. Tell them all that he was innocent.  
  
"You're not seriously going to school are you? You'll get a shown up walking in smelling like that!"  
  
"Oi, I just need to brush my teeth, that's all. Stop overreacting...Jesus Christ..."  
  
Jack snatched the shirt out of Roberts hands and held it behind him.  
  
"Don't you dare speak to me like that! I'm your father and you will show me respect while living under my roof! Under my roof, under my rules alright?!"  
  
"Right...?"  
  
"Now, I want you to do one thing with that phone before handing it over...delete that pathetic account on your instant thing..."  
  
Robert huffed and rubbed his own temples. God, even he was stressed as hell with this.  
  
"It's Instagram...and I already told you, I can't delete it because I didn't make it! I've already told you this!"  
  
Jack only grew more and more angrier. His face slowly turned a pink colour and he threw the shirt back in Roberts face before waving goodbye to Victoria and Andy.  
  
"You're pathetic! You know that?! What is it you want? Attention, is that it?! Money?! You just bored or something?!"  
  
"No! I can't delete it! It wasn't m-you know what? Forget it! You're not even listening to me!"  
  
Jack grabbed his shoulders and he shook him slightly.  
  
"You're the one not listening to me! Delete that account! Now!"  
  
Robert ended up shoving him, making the older man stumble backwards slightly and Jack only stared at him in shock. Never in his life had his own child retaliated against him, pushed him or hit him. Sure it was just a shove, but it wasn't just that was it? It was the meaning behind it...  
  
Robert hated him, wanted time away from him right now. All because he was trying to help...  
  
"I'm gonna get dressed...go to school...am I allowed to do that? Dad?"  
  
Jack said nothing and Robert stepped by him, purposely shoving his shoulder into Jack's and walked upstairs to change into his school uniform. He buttoned up his blazer when his head throbbed once again and he decided to grab an orange from one of his desk drawers. He had to hide them in there to prevent his dad from asking too many questions.  
  
He ate a couple of bites before he felt the urge to puke and set it back down. Nope. That was just gonna make him sick and he knew it. On top of that, his hip hurt and was bruised for some weird reason. He didn't get into a fight did he? But it was just a bruise on his hip...oh fuck...he didn't sleep with someone did he? That was all he needed, a girl to get preggers or some guy to fall in love with him or summat.  
  
He checked his phone and sighed when he saw the charge percentage. It was running low, on seven percent...  
  
He needed to charge it. Now.  
  
He left that on charge whilst he finished getting ready and by the time he had finished, his phone was nearly sixteen percent. Ok. Good enough he supposed?  
  
"Robert..."  
  
"I'm getting ready for school dad. Do you mind?"  
  
"Robert please...I'm just worri-"  
  
"Worried? Now you're worried about me? Because i went on a bender for one night? Is it cause Andy's not here? You finally see me? Oh look! Who's that in the corner? My blood related son? Pfft, shut up..."  
  
Jack scoffed.  
  
"Is that what this is about then? You're jealous?!"  
  
"Is it wrong for me to be jealous?! Not a sin is it?"  
  
Jack opened his mouth to speak again when Robert tugged his phone out its charge and grabbed his bag and left. He stormed out the house, ignoring his dad's calls of his name and ran towards the route towards school. He managed to show up halfway through first period and since he was in study class first, he simply signed his name in the front when he went in late and went upstairs to the library.  
  
He saw Priya there, a book in front of her and various pink and teal coloured highlighter spread across as she took plenty of notes. Robert briefly remembered a phone call from her yesterday and gave her a small smile.  
  
"Hi"  
  
She gave him a bitter smile and then a hard glare.  
  
"Oh look. It's you. What do you want? Come to take more pictures? Creepy asshole..."  
  
"What? Priya...I have no idea what you're on about..."  
  
She opened the side of her bag and began sliding everything off the desk into her bag with a huff. She actually teared up and rubbed her eyes with the edge of her blazer sleeve and sniffed. Robert extended an arm out to offer a shoulder to cry on when she stepped back and took out her phone. She went on Instagram and clicked a couple of pictures and then handed her phone to Robert who took it and looked at it.  
  
There it was again, this fake Robert putting up pictures with disgusting captions. The picture was a row of pictures and he had to slide his thumb to see the other ones making his cheeks slightly burn when he saw what kind of photos these were. The photo was of Priya in the fitness room wearing a short white sports bra and matching white leggings. She was exercising on a cross trainer machine and her face was all flushed. Clearly she had been exercising for a while.  
  
The next picture was a close up of her chest and the next one was one that made Roberts cheeks flush a little. Because Priya was wearing white, and she was exercising, her sweat had run down her chest and made her top quite...see through.  
  
Meaning you could see her chest quite clearly underneath her sports bra...  
  
And there was a close up of it...  
  
The caption below read 'Can't believe I saw this fittys chest today. Two things, easy and the reason I joined fitness club in the first place. Who wouldn't with a bod like hers?'  
  
Priya snatched the phone off of him and he remembered the username quickly. Robgossip. He opened his mouth to apologise to Priya and tell her that this wasn't him when she actually started crying and Robert only noticed her wearing a slightly longer skirt than usual.  
  
"You know everyones looking at me? Looking at my chest and making fun of me? This morning I had two guys comment on my bum Robert! You know how horrible I feel? You're disgusting! And you deserve everything coming to you, you know that?! You complete asshole!"  
  
She walked by him after grabbing her bag and shoved by him, rubbing her eyes and smudging her mascara and eyeliner in yhe process. Robert sort of just stood there and stared at the ground where Priya stood seconds ago before he took out his phone and checked Instagram quickly. He already used over his data but this would be for two seconds.  
  
He searched this fake user and found it straight away. Oh god...  
  
It wasn't just Andy and Priya he had apparently put posts up about...  
  
It was others too...Adam, his dad, the headteacher...fuck...and even Rebecca...claiming he had slept with her and she was an easy bird to feast on apparently. Whoever this person was, their grammar was terrible.  
  
Aaron was right when he said Robert was gonna get a beating if he showed up...  
  
"Oh fuck...fuck..."  
  
And there was one more...  
  
Aaron...  
  
'So glad I'm done with this faggot. Only took me long enough to experiment...never experimenting again. Seriously, don't recommend it at all. Can't believe I fooled this one into thinking we're actually getting a dog called Olivia. Guess all faggots have their own stupid daydreams don't they?'  
  
......  
  
Adam held his phone out towards Aaron in French and growled at it.  
  
"Bro, I'm actual gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him, I'm serious, and you ain't holding me back"  
  
Aaron shushed him because the teacher looked over at both of them and when the teacher turned back around, Adam showed him the caption and picture. Aaron read it before his eyes widened and he just stared and stared at the picture with a confused look. He looked around the classroom and then back to the phone and then turned around to face the wall behind him where a pink colouring in picture of the Eiffel tower hung behind him.  
  
"You're not touching a single hair on Robert"  
  
Adam swore his eyes nearly fucking fell out their sockets because what?! What the hell was Aaron on about?! He just got called every name under the sun by his ex boyfriend who must've put this up because he was angry about the break-up!  
  
"Mate, are you fucking mad? What the hell makes you think I'm not gonna-"  
  
"It's not him...Robert didn't post this. He would never post something like that..."  
  
"What? Look, I know he's your ex an all but-"  
  
"It's nothing to do with the fact that he's my ex Adam. Look, right there, it's a picture of the Eiffel tower. Roberts not in our French class, how could he have taken this picture?"  
  
Adam looked at it again and frowned when he saw that indeed, there was the pink Eiffel tower picture...a bit of Adams arm on the edge of the photo...  
  
Which meant it wasn't Robert. Wow...  
  
But it did mean it was someone from their classroom...their overfilled French classroom...and everybody was on their phones. They would have a hard time figuring this out...  
  
"Oh mate, you're right. Wait, what if it's an old picture?"  
  
"Trust me, it's not"  
  
"Oh...so who the hell done it then?"  
  
"Someone in here obviously..."  
  
"Mr Barton! What did I say about your phone already?!"  
  
Adam shrugged his shoulders and gave her a cheeky smile.  
  
"Je le garder? Uhh...s'il vous plait?"  
  
She was not pleased with that and bent her fingers to her palm to indicate to him to hand over his phone. Adam let out a childish groan and handed his phone over to the teacher who took it with a high pitched 'merci' and sat back at her desk. She then left an extra sheet of work for Adam to do and gave him a sickly sweet smile before turning around again.  
  
Adam may or may have not given her the middle finger behind her back.  
  
Bitch...  
  
Aaron couldn't even look over in front of him to see who was taking a picture of him because of the camera angle. Because he and Adam sat literally in the corner of the classroom, meaning everyone had a good front angle of the pair.  
  
Thankfully, by the end of the period, Adam was allowed his phone back and he and Aaron slowly walked to their next classroom as they tried to get a good signal for Adams phone. Aaron's ran out of charge and was charging right now with Adams portable charger in his bag so Adam was sort of his only hope.  
  
He went back on Instagram and checked out the fake account only for Aaron's picture to...have changed.  
  
The background was scribbled out, hiding the pink Eiffel tower and Aaron shook his head at that.  
  
"They heard us. That's why they scribbled it out, whoever the hell it was, they heard us and they know they were gonna get cau-oh my god..."  
  
Aaron stopped walking and Adam grabbed his arm to gain his attention. Aaron then turned and walked straight into the boys bathroom where he propped himself up onto the sinks and Adam joined him.  
  
Fuck it, Maths wasn't important anyways...  
  
Adam looked at Aaron in the mirror and widened his eyes. Aaron looked like he was ready to start crying...  
  
"Mate you alright? Aaron? Come on...tell me..."  
  
"Do you think...this whole time? Roberts been getting bullied? How the fuck could I not see it? Sure, this account only started the other day but what if there was other stuff?"  
  
"What do you mean other stuff?"  
  
"I dunno do I?! I was his boyfriend and I couldn't see that he was-"  
  
Aaron broke into a small cry then and Adam went straight into a hug, calming his friend the best way he could. He sighed and propped himself up on the sink beside Aaron and cleared his throat.  
  
"Tell you what, I can't be bothered with Maths if I'm honest. Me and you are gonna find out who's doing this, ok? And if we can't figure out who it is...then we'll talk to Miss Grant, yeah?"  
  
"Yeah. Yeah sure..."  
  
So they talked and talked about possible theories of who it could be in their French class. They did notice quite a lot of people who would have beef with Robert because the blonde did have a nasty habit of poking fun at everyone around him. He wasn't as bad as Ross though.  
  
Adam wrote a list of everyone in their French class and then sighed. There was a lot of people...  
  
  
Brooke  
Andy Sugden  
Samuel  
Ellis Grant  
Jennifer  
Maddy  
Sandy  
Heather  
Billy Grant  
Ross Barton  
Teigan  
Bethany  
Finn Barton  
Joshua M  
Josh  
Joshua D  
Leyla Harding  
Pete Barton  
  
Second names meant possible possible suspects. Pete was likely, since he was a quiet one and you know what they say about the quiet ones...plus he stuck up for Ross like all the time. Then there was Ross himself, but everyone knew he typed in numbers to shorten words down and stuff. Plus he wouldn't be too scared to say it out loud to Robert. No way would he do that. Leyla? She was Priyas best friend. Maybe she was jealous of Robert being her new best friend? Andy? He and Robert never got on at all due to Roberts never ending jealousy of Andy...maybe he wanted to do something bad back. But then...the fake account said something bad about Andy himself. Why would he do it?  
  
Finn?  
  
It was likely actually...  
  
He hadnt taken his and Aaron's one night stand breakup well at all...especially the day after. And when he learned that Aaron and Robert were in a relationship a couple of months after, oh he was not happy one bit. Always making little snidey comments here and there to try and annoy Aaron. All Robert had to do was kiss Aaron in front of Finn and watch his face turn red in anger. Plus Finn was good at all this technology stuff...  
  
Maybe it was him?  
  
But did he have the balls to do it?  
  
Billy also seemed pretty plausible. One insult towards Aaron and Robert flew towards him and gave him a right beating after school. After that, Billy had to get a completely different timetable from Roberts to prevent them from coming close to one another. Ellis was his brother so...maybe he wanted to stick up for him? Create an account? Get Robert sent down for....whatever?  
  
Honestly? Their best shot was Finn...but they were still both clueless.  
  
They couldn't exactly accuse a random guy of doing all this online could they? It would get them all into trouble if they were wrong. Plus, now that the picture had changed and you couldn't see the background of the obvious eiffel tower, then...they were pretty much accusing someone who could have possibly not done it and then with no clues to the classroom...  
  
So they were pretty much screwed.  
  
"We have to tell Miss Grant...it's our only choice isn't it? Tell her it's Finn, has to be"  
  
Adam sighed and then nodded.  
  
"Alright. We're definitely sure it's Finn?"  
  
"Yeah...he's the only one I can think who would know about me and Roberts funny jokes. Think, on my picture, it talked about a dog called Olivia. Finn is a right nosy git most times, listens in on me and Robs conversations all the time. It's definitely him"  
  
"Ok...you absolutely sure?"  
  
Aaron nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I am"  
  
"Right, then...we'll go talk to Miss Grant right now then?"  
  
"Yep"  
  
......  
  
"Hold on! One at a time boys! Please!"  
  
Aaron and Adam shut up. Ok...so maybe both of them telling two stories at the same time wasn't helping her understand it one bit...  
  
Adam looked at Aaron, hoping he would talk first and thankfully, he understood and started to explain everything. Miss Grant told them both to sit down and she sighed and clicked a couple of things on her computer, looking at Roberts timetable. Ok, so right now...he should be in...physics...  
  
She picked up the phone and called and waited for an answer. When she received no answer, she knew the teacher must be busy or didn't reach the phone in time and decided to wait another five minutes. The door knocked and Miss Grant sighed and called for them to come in.  
  
Priya walked in with her make-up all smudged and she sniffed and wiped her eyes. Miss Grant stood up immediately and rushed over.  
  
"Priya! Are you alright?!"  
  
Priya shook her head.  
  
"No. Rob-"  
  
She stopped when she realised Aaron and Adam were sitting in the chairs in front of her. Miss Grant sighed and connected the dots straight away. She did listen to Aaron and Adams story after all.  
  
"This is about the Instagram account?"  
  
Priya nodded and Miss Grant motioned for her to sit down. Aaron gave her his seat and she took it gratefully while taking tissues out of the box the teacher offered her. Miss Grant waited a few seconds, getting Priyas version of the story and she decided to call up Roberts class again. She needed to ask him first of all.  
  
Aaron huffed.  
  
"Robert didn't create the account! I know he didn't! It was Finn!"  
  
Priya raised an eyebrow and wiped her nose with the tissue in her hand.  
  
"But...it couldn't be Finn"  
  
"How?"  
  
"Well...Finn isn't part of the fitness club"  
  
Miss Grant mumbled an ok on the phone and set it back down with a confused look on her face. She turned to Aaron, knowing he and Robert were pretty close.  
  
"Aaron? Have you seen Robert today?"  
  
Priya nodded, answering Aaron's question for him.  
  
"I did. He was in the library first period..."  
  
Miss Grant nodded.  
  
"Ok...only, according to Roberts teacher...he's not even showed up to class..."  
  
Aaron frowned at that.  
  
"What? I'll call him, can I do that?"  
  
Miss Grant allowed him to take out his phone and switch it on. It was only at ten percent but it was enough for now to make a call and let the phone last for twenty minutes at least.  
  
He called Robert and when he received no answer, he decided to leave a voicemail.  
  
"Robert, call me back as soon as you get this yeah? I know about the account, we all do, it's not you, I know that. Come to the heads office yeah?"  
  
He hung up and quickly shoved it back on charge. He had a feeling he might be needing his phone for a while longer...

...........

"Jack?! I know you're in there so open the bloody door! Jack?! Well I ain't moving so either listen to me scream all day or open the door!"  
  
Chas crossed her arms, angry at this stupid attitude Jack was showing recently. She still couldn't get it out of her head that he had kicked Robert out for the night, and since she hadnt been able to contact him yesterday, she only wondered what Robert could have done for Jack to lose it. Even go as far as to strike him across the face.  
  
"Jack! I swear to-!"  
  
The door swung open and Jack stood there, not looking pleased one bit. He huffed and scowled at the woman in front of him.  
  
"What is it Chas? Stop your screaming will you?"  
  
"I'll stop my screaming when I get answers so there"  
  
She purposely shoved him out the way as she walked to the side of Jack, letting herself in the house and she looked around. He hadn't had time to clean up the morning ruckus today and she raised an eyebrow and stuck her hands on her hips.  
  
"So go on. You've been ignoring my calls, might as well tell me everything now"  
  
"What the hell are you on about?"  
  
"Your son Jack! The one we're both very fond of? The one who stays at mine practically every night, had to stay at mines the other day because he was kicked out, that one!"  
  
Jack shut the door and rubbed his temples beside his forehead. He was so stressed already...jeez...  
  
"Right, so Robert did stay over at yours then? Good..."  
  
"What, because you don't want him sleeping on the streets? You shouldn't have to kick out your own son Jack!"  
  
"Yes I know that already! But you didn't see him Chas! You don't see what he's like right now!"  
  
"So tell me! Tell me what's going on with Robert then!"  
  
Jack froze. He didn't even know what was going on with his own son, just that he had randomly hit a downward spiral one day and nothing seemed to be helping. He had decided to start bullying people online and started this crazy diet plan?!  
  
What was he supposed to say?  
  
So he said nothing, just let it all come out in the form of watershed and he covered his eyes with his hands and sat down on the couch. His shoulders shook with every sob he let out and Chas was at his side in a second, rubbing his arm gently and she sighed.  
  
"It's ok..."  
  
"I don't know what's wrong with him Chas. He's been fine and then one day, just stopped being..."  
  
"Himself?"  
  
"Yeah. He stopped eating and I asked him what was up and he just told me it's because of his mum...he misses her...we all do. I wish she was still here, you know? She's ten times better at all this parenting stuff than I am..."  
  
Chas sighed. She remembered what it was like for her to bring up Aaron. He was a troublesome kid, always getting into fights with the younger ones at school and then he went into his first year at secondary and closed off from everybody. That's when she found out he was gay, only for some odd reason, Aaron wasn't talking to her at all. Only Paddy.  
  
Thankfully things changed when he met Robert, became happy again and closer to his mum than ever. And whatever Robert did to make him like that, she would always be grateful.  
  
"Jack, you're doing an amazing job at parenting. You're bringing up three kids on your own...not to mention a hormonal teenage girl too. I thought Aaron was bad..."  
  
She chuckled and Jack managed to give her a short laugh with that.  
  
"Look, it's probably only easier for me because I've got one and I've got Paddy. But from what I'm seeing, you're doing an amazing job alright? Don't doubt yourself"  
  
"It's Robert who's making me doubt myself...he's just...I don't know what's wrong..."  
  
Chas sighed and then stood up and pulled on Jack's shoulder to get him to stand up.  
  
"Tell you what, a walk will do us good, yeah? Let's take a walk and get some fresh air and just relax and talk about both of us being complete failures at parenting. Sound good?"  
  
Jack snorted but stood up and followed. He grabbed his coat and went out the house with Chas who hooked her arm in his for warmth. It was a cold sunny day today, the one were the sun was out but for some weird reason, had no heat coming out of it?  
  
Why was that a thing again?  
  
Chas leaned into his side as they walked around the house, even walked around the back where they leaned against the fence and looked upon the fields ahead of them. Jack ended up chatting about the times of Robert when he was a kid and he loved to pull all the heads off of Victoria's Barbie dolls. When Robert was a baby and he loved to paint the walls with his Chad Valley waterproof paint. The paint wasn't waterproof and he had to redo the entire hall wallpaper.  
  
"Don't even get me started on Aaron..."  
  
Jack chuckled and turned around so he could look at the house behind him. He looked up at Roberts bedroom window and sighed.  
  
"I need to apologise to him. I didn't mean-he just did all this bullying stuff out of the blue..."  
  
"Ye-oh god!"  
  
Chas put a hand to her mouth in a mixture of shock and disgust as she spotted a horrible sight lying on the grass in front of them. Jack frowned and looked at the spot where she was looking and walked towards it to get a better sight.  
  
"Oh my-ugh! Get away! Filthy bloody-!"  
  
Jack stepped closer towards the huge flock of pigeons and kicked out a leg to get them all to fly away. They did, and he finally saw what was in the centre of them.  
  
Eww...a dead pigeon and...  
  
"Is that a bone?"  
  
Jack bent down and picked it up. There were various bones...all scattered about with tattered bits of chicken...  
  
Now that he thought about it, didn't he make chicken drumsticks two nights ago? How the hell did it get down here?  
  
He looked up and found that Roberts window was exactly above him and he sighed.  
  
"He's been lying about eating...for God's sake..."  
  
Chas made an oh sound and rubbed Jack's back. She looked up at Roberts window when she felt her phone begin to vibrate inside her coat pocket. Aaron. What the hell was he doing calling during his school hours?  
  
"Aaron? You better have a good reason to be cal-what? Ok! Ok! Calm down love! Calm do-you what? Ok, Ok, yeah he's here. Alright, we'll start looking around alright? Just calm down love, we'll find him"  
  
She hung up and shoved her phone back in her coat pocket when Jack asked her what the hell happened there. She took a deep breath and Jack dropped the chicken bone and stood up to stand away from the dead pigeon.  
  
"Chas?"  
  
"It's Robert...he's not turned up to school..."  
  
..........  
  
  
"Mums out there looking for him Adam! I can't just sit here and do nothing!"  
  
"Mate you're not doing nothing anyways! Look, what I'm saying is...just wait a couple more hours for him. Robert's probably bunkin off school again. It has become a habit..."  
  
"Because he's not well Adam! What part don't you flippin get?!"  
  
Adam sighed. Aaron was frantic as he paced around the office area. After he had phoned Robert in the headteachers office and Miss Grant declared Robert missing from school, she had the flippin cheek to send him and Adam out to head to their next class because there wasn't anything left for them to do. Aaron's phone had charged another five percent and he left it on the portable charger for another couple of minutes as he called and left various voicemail messages for Robert.  
  
It shouldn't be a big deal. Not really, he was 18 and he decided to leave school after first period. Everyone's done that at some point in their school life, just not bothered about going to their next class...  
  
But when Robert was getting fake accounts made of him and he had stopped eating because of something, it was clear that he was getting bullied, Aaron didn't know what to think. He could try to run away permanently.  
  
Plus it was half past ten so...alcohol could be officially sold now in shops. Robert could get drunk...and have a repeat of last night.  
  
And Aaron was so scared because what would happen if Robert got drunk and decided to start a fight with a group of rough thugs? He could already imagine having to go look for Roberts body, down in alley ways or even-  
  
"Aaron, look, we can't do anything more alright? Robert will be fine, just trust me on this one, yeah?"  
  
Aaron did calm down, though not fully, but he calmed down a bit and took deep breaths and sighed. Adam widened his eyes when he spotted a certain Sugden at the office window and he shouted after him.  
  
"Andy!"  
  
Andy turned around and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Alright? What yous doing here?"  
  
Aaron looked at Andy holding an ice pack and coughed.  
  
"Roberts gone missing..."  
  
"What? Missing? Can't be, he was in the house this morning"  
  
"No. He came to school and after first period, he left. We've been trying to find him, tell him about this fake Instagram account..."  
  
Andy's face hardened at that and he scoffed. Obviously he would scoff, he was pissed off at the fact that his brother had said some pretty insulting things on social media.  
  
"Right, his Instagram account. Well, hope you find him soon, sooner he's found, sooner he can make up some more insults. Who's next? Victoria?"  
  
Adam shook his head.  
  
"No way would he post about Victoria. She's his sister"  
  
"And I'm his brother but he didn't care then did he?"  
  
Aaron folded his arms and sighed again. He just wanted answers, so so many answers for the endless amount of questions that kept popping up every second...  
  
Andy said his goodbyes and went away to head back to...gym or something? He did have his gym kit on so Aaron assumed, then Adam pushed his shoulder gently and hoisted his bag up higher on his shoulders.  
  
"Come with me to the library? I need to return-"  
  
"Seriously? Roberts missing and you want to-"  
  
"Mate, I know he's missing, but we can't do anything right now. Your mum and Jack's out there looking for him an they'll get the village to look for him an all. I've sent him a text and she's out there looking too, so just...chill ok?"  
  
Aaron finally chilled out much to Adams pleasure and he nodded and walked with Adam to the library. As per usual, it was empty except for that one girl in the back on her phone who was trying to skip class because she forgot to do her homework. Adam returned the book in the large crate where the returned books lay and went off to get another one. He walked over to the manga section and picked up a comic book that sat beside the section and let out a surprised shout.  
  
"Oh! Look at this mate! Doctor who and the medicine man! This is brand new! Fucking mint, mate!"  
  
Aaron rolled his eyes and walked over to one of the bookcases where he found a ridiculous one called They Both Die At The End...  
  
Wow...way to ruin the story much?  
  
"Aaron? Did you hear me?! Look!"  
  
"Yeah, I know Adam...its not as if you didn't just shout it at the top of your lungs ten times you know..."  
  
"Yeah yeah. The librarian ain't in again so I'm just gonna borrow this..."  
  
Aaron raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You mean steal it don't you?"  
  
"Yep. And add it to my collection. You taking anything out? Or can you even read? Dumbo"  
  
Aaron glared at his friend. As much as he loved Adam, sometimes he was a huge pain in the ass...always making fun of Aaron for never being able to read an entire book. Why should he when he could read them online?  
  
But of course, he had enough and he wanted to prove it wrong to Adam.  
  
"Actually, I'm taking this out..."  
  
Adam read the title of the book.  
  
"Noughts and Crosses?"  
  
"Yeah...by...Malorie Blackman..."  
  
"Oh! She's the new writer for Doctor who! Did you hear that she..."  
  
And that was Adam off again, ranting about his loving Doctor Who and Aaron just took the time while he ranted, to read the blurb of his book. Oh for fucks sake...just his luck...  
  
He took out a cheesy romance?!  
  
Adam turned around to put the comic in his bag and Aaron flicked through halfway, near the end(ish) through the book. He read a couple of lines and his cheeks burned slightly...  
  
He hadnt just picked up a porno did he?  
  
This wasn't some kind of spin-off from fifty shades of grey? Why did the school library even own this book?! So much for young adults...  
  
Ugh...hopefully Adam never finds out.  
  
Still, he shoved it in his bag and took out his phone that was still plugged into the portable charger. He was glad to see that it was nearly 27% and decided to call Robert again. He sighed and let it ring out when he heard it.  
  
Roberts phone.  
  
The ring tone...  
  
That was Robert!  
  
He looked up and down and then moved away from the book cases to follow the phone ringing. There it was! The phone!  
  
But...where was Robert?  
  
Aaron hung up on his own phone and picked up Roberts and sighed in relief. Ok...ok...breathe...breathe...  
  
He switched on Roberts phone and groaned when he saw the passcode show up. Right...a passcode...  
  
What was Roberts passcode exactly?  
  
"Roberts phone?"  
  
Aaron let out an embarrassing shriek and he nearly jumped ten feet in the air. Adam chuckled before wincing from the punch Aaron gave his shoulder and he looked at the phone his friend held.  
  
"Well? Is it?"  
  
"Yeah it is...but he's not here...did he leave it then?"  
  
"Must have...he's got a passcode on it..."  
  
"Do you know it?"  
  
"No. I'll try random ones though..."  
  
Adam nodded and patted his friends shoulder before turning and left. Aaron followed, pocketed Roberts phone in his trousers and walked along the corridors and down to the cafeteria. The bell was about to ring for interval so he could have time to figure it out then.  
  
Only ten minutes into interval, Victoria appeared at the table with a flushed face as she was out of breath. She panted and once she had calmed down and caught her breath, she looked at Adam and Aaron.  
  
"Aaron is it true?! My brothers gone missing?! Andy's just told me!"  
  
Ross walked over, hearing the conversation between all of them and widened his eyes.  
  
"Roberts missing?"  
  
Adam nodded and Ross snickered and Aaron stood up to try and punch him square in the face when Adam pulled him back.  
  
"Woah! Calm down Dingle! Sugden'll probably be out getting hammered or summat. Again..."  
  
"Shut it! He won't be!"  
  
And then it occurred to Aaron.  
  
"Wait. How the hell do you know he was hammered last night?"  
  
"Saw him walking around the village singing to himself. It was bloody hilarious. Look, I got a video an everything..."  
  
Aaron lunged for him again and Adam had to hold him back with more force.  
  
"Fuck off Ross!"  
  
"Alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist. Touchy much?"  
  
Aaron scoffed.  
  
"As if. It's your brother anyways who's got the problem. Making up fake accounts? Pathetic!"  
  
"Finn?! Finn doesn't have the balls to do summat like that...besides, when have you ever seen him in the fitness room? Get your facts straight first. If you can..."  
  
"Whatever Ross! Piss off!"  
  
Ross scoffed and walked away, giving Aaron two fingers on the way. Victoria rolled her eyes at Ross and then looked back to Aaron.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Aaron, who had grown impatient now and was genuinely pissed off, stood up and shrugged his jacket on and swung his schoolbag over his shoulders.  
  
"Vic, I told you everything I know already ok? Get off my fucking case will you? Jesus Christ..."  
  
Adam frowned at Aaron as soon as he shoved on his jacket.  
  
"Err hang on, where you going?"  
  
"I ain't staying in school all day. Fuck that"  
  
"Aaron! Hang on a second!"  
  
Aaron ignored Adam straight away and left the school building, walked towards the bus and when he saw it just drove away as soon as he got to the stop, he swore loudly and speed walked home.  
  
  
......  
  
  
It had finally grown to the point where Robert had grown physically tired from seeing all the texts. He was initially exhausted from not having any food for...how long had it been exactly? Plus he was tired from his never ending thoughts and plans to try and fix this situation he somehow ended up in.  
  
He made Priya cry, made his brother hate him even more now and his dad definitely wanted to kick him out. Chas was sick of him, Paddy probably hated him and his sister was probably pretending to be upset that he was gone to make him feel better or something. Everyone on this fake Instagram account who had been victims to this...person doing vile things...definitely hated Robert.  
  
And Aaron?  
  
After the way he had treated Aaron, it was no wonder they weren't together, the way that he had pushed him away everytime he had tried to help...especially when he knew Aaron was just worried. And Robert had pushed him away because...he wasnt thin enough to...to...  
  
Why had he even wanted to be thin?  
  
It was supposed to help, fix everything, make everything better...  
  
Yet all it did was make everything worse, make Aaron sad, make his dad worry and it made Robert lie about his dead mum.  
  
How the fuck had everything gone terrible?  
  
Being thin didn't work...when he was fat, apparently nothing worked either. But it wasn't as if there was some sort of balance between the two was there? There couldn't be. And if there was, then how the hell had he not found it?  
  
That's why...he couldn't stay in school, he had to disappear, forever.  
  
He just had to find some way to do that though.  
  
So he left a message on his phone, a last and single attempt to remind Aaron of how he felt towards him and left his phone in the library and left. He walked through the school car park where hardly any teachers saw because the windows were angled at a certain position. He decided that he had to...he had to do something and after mulling it over in his mind, he decided.  
  
So he walked along to the bridge where he would need to cross to head home and peered down over the railing. He stepped up onto the railing and looked down at the motorway down below him.  
  
Maybe jumping would solve everything, get rid of him, get him to finally disappear and save everyone the hassle of him. He could join his mum...see her once again, reunite and they would smile and hug and...  
  
And a jump from this height might not even be high enough to kill him.  
  
He had watched that Casualty episode from more than a few weeks ago about Mia and she didn't seem to die straight away. Casualty was also pretty accurate...he thinks...  
  
And if he didn't survive after jumping, then think of all the hassle that would then cause.  
  
He removed his feet from the tiny gaps between the railings and he stepped down back onto the ground.  
  
"Are you alright pet?"  
  
Robert jumped in fright and turned around. He looked at the woman before him and forced himself to nod. She was elderly looking and had a nice looking...what do you call that hairstyle again? Like a tame afro? A perm? Whatever.  
  
"I'm fine..."  
  
"Ok. Find anything interesting down there?"  
  
Robert noticed the way she spoke with such calmness, high pitched as if she was talking to a child. She knew didn't she?  
  
"I..I wasn't going to jump! I'm not stupid!"  
  
"Never said you were..."  
  
Her eyes narrowed in on his school blazer with the crest on the front and she sighed.  
  
"Skiving school then?"  
  
"No. It's a study day..."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah. Quit asking me questions you creep. I'm basically a minor and you're coming off as some...some perverted old lady!"  
  
Robert stormed away after that and the lady only sighed before she noticed the schoolbag that the boy had left behind.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Robert heard her in the distance and knew he had to get out of there fast. She could be an old friend of his dad's and...and tell him that he was skipping school again. Tell him he was looking over a bridge deciding whether to die or not.  
  
He shoved a hand in the inside pocket of his blazer and he mentally cheered when he found a crumpled up tenner, an empty packet of paracetamol, with two left in it, and a two pence coin.  
  
He shoved the two pence coin back in before pausing at the paracetamol. He just stared at the nearly empty packet before looking at his tenner and looked around. He was pretty sure there was a Tesco nearby wasn't there? Or a pharmacy? A Boots maybe?  
  
He walked and walked and found a Boots instead and grabbed two packets of paracetamol and went straight to the counter. There was a bored looking college student standing there with her hair in a high ponytail. She gave him a smile and scanned the packets and she raised an eyebrow making Robert worry. Wasn't there some rule that you couldn't buy more than one packet or something?  
  
"Do you have ID with you?"  
  
Robert nodded and only realised then that he didn't have his bag. Shit...shit...shit!  
  
"I left it in my bag..."  
  
She looked around and saw nobody else in the store before giving Robert the packets. He took them and paid her the tenner and she shrugged.  
  
"I know. Hangovers suck..."  
  
Oh. So she thought he was...ok then. Whatever worked he supposed.  
  
"Thanks"  
  
She nodded and gave him his change and then a wave as he walked out. Thankfully, there was a shop nearby and he went into that to buy himself two bottles of water and a carrier bag.  
  
That was it.  
  
He bought everything...  
  
Just...well now, did he actually have the guts to go through with it? He could do it right here...right now...  
  
No...someone would see him do it, someone would stop him, question him, get him sent away to some loony bin or summat.  
  
He couldn't go there.  
  
So he decided to walk towards the village, through the forest. He briefly remembered his mum who always loved the forest, always loved the greenery and the flowers and nature in general. It would be sweet, wouldn't it, if he died at the place his mother loved? In some kind of sick cruel twisted way...it would please her? Kind of?  
  
He found a small hut, abandoned and the windows were broken and the boards on the porch looked rotten and cracked. Robert took out the bottle of water from the bag and twisted the lid and threw the bag away because suddenly the crinkling noise of it began to go through him.  
  
The water spilled slightly when he accidentally knocked it over with his palm and he balanced it on one of the wobbly wooden boards before taking out his paracetamol. The packets suddenly felt heavier in his hands and he knew he had to do this quickly before he did something stupid.  
  
Like change his mind.  
  
Each pill was popped out onto his lap, one by one until they all sat in a large pile. The two packets were empty and his hands shook slightly as he tossed one in his mouth and downed a large gulp of water, swallowing it with ease.  
  
Ok.  
  
That wasn't so bad.  
  
He did it to another and another until he reached his twelth one and he began to taste it, the copper taste of the pills, like copper and dust mixed together, making your throat dry and itch despite how much water he downed. When he reached his 20th, he stopped taking them one by one and started taking them two by two.  
  
By his 26th pill, he paused and grimaced at the taste and stuck his tongue out and felt the urge to vomit. He should vomit them back up.  
  
He shouldn't.  
  
But he should...  
  
But the text says do it.  
  
He took another two and burst into tears then, nearly screaming into the heel of his hands as he nearly hyperventilated whilst crying. He was just so damn thirsty! And the pills weren't helping!  
  
After finishing the two packets, he only remembered the two extra ones in his blazer and he picked them out. He didn't pop them out the foil though, knowing he would be sick straight away if he did so...  
  
He looked around the area, suddenly finding everything in a new light. Had the trees always looked that green? The ground was always that brown? The sky...  
  
Ugh  
  
He had actually done it.  
  
He had actually downed a load of pills and water and...and now he just needed to go to sleep didn't he? He just needed to sleep and never wake up again.  
  
He wouldn't see his dad again, Victoria, Andy, Chas, Paddy and Aaron...Aaron...  
  
Robert tucked his knees into his chest and rolled over on his side to lie down and try and force himself to fall asleep. He ended up accidentally kicking the water bottle down, making it spill down the steps and he silently cried and forced himself to close his eyes, his stomach already twisting in that horrible way it goes whenever he's super stressed about summat.  
  
He would see his mum soon.  
  
.......  
  
  
"Aaron, love we looked everywhere but we couldn't find him...look, he'll be fine. I know he will...just call me back as soon as you get this message yeah?"  
  
Just as Chas hung up, the door to the back room opened and she turned around with wide eyes.  
  
"Aaron! You're...not at school?"  
  
"How could I? I thought you said you were looking for-"  
  
"Yeah I left you a message. Jack's still out there looking for him. We're getting more people in the village to look some more for Robert and I've called around a couple of pubs already"  
  
Aaron nodded and shoved his bag on the ground and Chas sighed and moved towards her son to wrap her arms around him. She hugged him and surprisingly he hugged back with a sad look up in his face.  
  
"It's alright...it's alright love..."  
  
"Don't feel like it. He's left his phone and everything..."  
  
"He has? Is there anything on it? Any clues maybe?"  
  
Aaron shook his head and sighed.  
  
"No. I've been trying to guess the passcode, like 1234 or something but...apparently it's none of what I've thought of so we're probably gonna be here all day with this stupid thing..."  
  
Chas walked over to the kitchen and switched the kettle on, letting it boil quickly. She turned her head over and watched her son tap Roberts phone screen frantically as he tried to get into the device.  
  
"Want tea love?"  
  
"Yeah. Go ahead, looks like I'll be here a while so..."  
  
.........  
  
When you take an overdose...does it mean your senses increase dramatically?  
  
Because Robert swore his breathing sounded like the loudest thing on earth as well as his own heartbeat, his pulse....the birds sitting in a tree above him seemed to screech rather than sing. The leaves formed mini tornados as they twirled around in circles, the leaves swirling around beside him and this abandoned hut thing.  
  
Not to mention the fact that it had suddenly gone colder, drastically colder with the weather around him decreasing instantly and.....  
  
And honestly, how the fuck was it summer if Robert couldn't stop shivering?  
  
And it stunk...why did it stink again?  
  
Oh yeah...  
  
Senses...right?  
  
Did they increase when taking overdoses? Maybe it was just so quiet he thought his senses had dilated up to an eight, rather than their usual five.  
  
He wasn't sure what time it was, but his side had long gone numb from how long he had laid down on it. His fingertips were freezing to death, also numb and cold...  
  
The skin around his lips had crusted over with the amount of sick he had thrown up already. He ended up puking every ten minutes as he forced himself to sleep, trying to constantly remind himself that what he was doing right now was right. Eww, he was even sure there was dry snot crusted underneath his nostrils... He threw up on the ground in front of him at first until he ended up throwing up every few minutes and ended up exhausting himself to the point where he didn't care if his head was currently lying in a huge pile of yellow and white clumpy sick.  
  
Maybe that was the horrible smell...?  
  
Maybe this was an overnight death? Instead of a die in your sleep death?  
  
See you soon.  
  
Mum.  
  
.......  
  
It took an hour, an entire hour of crouching in an uncomfortable position near the wall socket as he plugged Roberts phone in to charge and tried to crack the code. Literally try and get the stupid passcode on his phone. The phone had already shut down three times, locked itself up twelve times and never stopped vibrating with whoever was texting Robert in the first place.  
  
Chas had told Jack as soon as Aaron showed her that he had Roberts phone and that only made Jack panic even more. It was around one in the afternoon and Aaron was getting more and more impatient with this stupid device.  
  
He had thrown away his school tie, the knot at the top feeling like it was choking him to death and he had abandoned his school shirt for a t-shirt and hoodie. By the time he had felt like changing his trousers, he only remembered a specific date in his mind and paused in his movements.  
  
What if Robert put her date as his passcode?  
  
But...it was an eight digit code, so another date then?  
  
Great. More numbers?  
  
Aaron huffed, stepped out his room and quickly walked downstairs to grab Roberts phone again. He typed in the beginning of Roberts mother's special date and sighed...  
  
1611  
  
And four more...  
  
Maybe his dad's birthday aswell?  
  
1611 2811  
  
Please....please...  
  
Nope.  
  
He cursed under his breath and unplugged the charger from the phone. He took it with him so he could sit at the table and he brought his knees up to his chest, bum hanging off the edge of the chair.  
  
What about...?  
  
His birthday maybe?  
  
1611 0501  
  
His eyes widened and he gave a fist pump underneath the table with a whispered 'yes!'  
  
It worked!  
  
The first thing he saw straight away were all the messages that everyone had bombarded Robert with. Messages from Jack, Victoria, himself and even Adam.  
  
And...who the hell was this?  
  
He swiped down and pressed on the message, reading it straight away, a hand flying to his mouth to cover it.  
  
Die  
Ugly  
Fatty  
  
And every other insult in the flaming book! This was it wasn't it? Why Robert was so attached to his phone? Why Robert had begun this diet plan and why he had his crazy low moods...  
  
This was disgusting! Who the hell would spend their time sending Robert these type of messages? How long had they...?  
  
He scrolled right to the top, getting angrier with every minute that passed and exactly five minutes later, he scrolled to the top.  
  
Robert had been holding this in for...just over a month!  
  
And yet...he thought Robert was cheating on him with Rebecca...all those crazy assumptions that proved to be wrong. Was he at fault? For making Robert act low and angry most of the time. He was probably just pissed off with Aaron for constantly accusing him of something that didn't even happen....  
  
There must have been something else on the phone...must have...

He flicked through most of Roberts apps on his phone, checking to see if he had other horrible or threatening messages only to find none. He did find a lot of exercise videos and pictures and gifs downloaded and displayed in his gallery as well as a few pictures of some...  
  
Was that a girls legs? He tapped on that and almost cringed from how thin she looked and saw the big white blocky writing at the bottom saying 'STILL FAT' and then other pictures relating to this.  
  
He was almost disgusted.  
  
This was what Robert found fat? Her legs were like sticks, her ribs threatened to rip out of her skin and her collarbones popped out so much they looked like bowls!  
  
"Jesus christ..."  
  
He scrolled through more and more and saw some screenshots were from Instagram. Right, his Instagram!  
  
He checked that and went right into Roberts saved collection. He had a whole folder for all of these pictures, all relating to two things that Aaron hadn't even heard of until now.  
  
Meanspo and Thinspo?  
  
He had to Google that later.  
  
"Aaron? You through here?!"  
  
He looked up from Roberts phone and Chas's face fell when she spotted her son's expression.  
  
"Oh love, what's happened? You've got into the phone, look!"  
  
She stood behind him and looked at the screen, face screwing up in the process with a huge sigh.  
  
"Oh god...I've got to call Ja-Aaron!"  
  
He ended up with his hands in his eyes, sobbing violently and he cried and cried into his mother's arms as she wrapped them around him. He turned around in his chair and when his cries had turned into small whimpered against her cardigan she wore, she pulled back and kissed his head.  
  
"We'll find him, we'll get him help and...it'll all be fine. Ok? You'll look back on this one day and laugh, you know?"  
  
Aaron nodded, not quite believing his mother's words but he wanted her to feel as if she was sort of helping so he agreed anyways. He watched her give him a glass of water and one of her chocolate orange biscuits that nobody was allowed to touch and left the room with a promise to return quickly. Aaron looked through the phone again before pressing the tab option and swiped away the ones he had looked through. He probably should have done this at the start, make it easier for him.  
  
He swiped through until he saw the notes tab sitting right there and he frowned. He hadnt even thought of checking that...  
  
Still, he tapped it and pressed on the most recent one.  
  
Today...just after first period...  
  
Aaron, I love you.  
  
And he swore all the colour drained from his face.  
  
"Mum!"  
  
.....  
  
In the end, Chas had to calm down Aaron enough to literally restrain him from leaving the livingroom. She held him in there, hugging him close as he had a full on panic attack right in front of her. Aaron managed to calm down after a while, but his determination to find Robert hadn't gone.  
  
"Robert...mum it sounds like-"  
  
"I know it sounds like that, but he won't have, ok? He wouldn't do that...Jack's out looking for him in the woods, only place we haven't checked yet. And everyone else is looking for him..."  
  
"But mum-"  
  
He was interrupted by her phone going off. It was Jack. Please be good news?  
  
"Hello? He's what?! Alright, ok...do you need anything brought up? He's fine though? Ok...one second..."  
  
She moved away from Aaron to grab a pen and an old envelope to scribble on. She wrote down all the details Jack had told her over the phone with a shaky voice and hung up. Aaron looked at the envelope quickly reading it and he widened his eyes, worst thoughts coming true.  
  
"Mum, why does it say ward 46?!"  
  
She put down her phone slowly and licked her lips, preparing herself for what she was going to say.  
  
"It's about Robert..."  
  
"He isn't-!"  
  
"No! No, don't worry! He's definitely not dead. Umm...apparently some old woman found him in the woods. He...I'm sorry love, he's took a paracetamol overdose..apparently two whole packets..."  
  
Aaron ran a hand through his hair, stressed and worried to the bone. He knew Robert might end up doing something like this, all because of those texts, his weight...how could people be so cruel?!  
  
"Aaron? Look, there's nothing me or you can do right now...Jack's asked us to bring up pyjamas for Robert, make him comfortable an all that. He'll be staying in hospital for a couple of days..."  
  
"Has he even said anything?"  
  
"Uh, he's not awake right now..."  
  
Aaron sniffed and wiped his eyes and nose before gaining some composure of himself. He knew he had to help out in someway and had to show up at the hospital to tell Jack about the phone for Roberts reason.  
  
"Ok. Umm...pyjamas? I've got his favourite here..."  
  
Chas nodded and gave him a small smile.  
  
"Ok, how about you pack a bag for Robert then? Pyjamas, toothbrush, boxers and socks and other things?"  
  
Aaron nodded and went upstairs after he grabbed a plastic bag. As soon as he was out of sight, Chas tried her best to rapidly blink away her tears but it didn't work. They fell hard and she wiped them away and bit into her arm sleeve to stop any noise from coming out. She had to be strong for Aaron, like what any mother would do.  
  
After Aaron had packed Roberts bag, with his favourite blue pyjamas, boxers and socks and even his favourite shampoo incase he wanted a shower or something when he woke, he went downstairs and grabbed his coat and walked over to Roberts house to grab his toothbrush. It was the red one with its bristles nearly falling off because Robert was such a neat freak when it came to his own appearance.  
  
They got a taxi up to the hospital and Chas had to ask around at least three times for directions to ward 46 which turned out to be on the third floor. She was about to ask for more directions when she saw the familiar looking flat cap ahead and walked towards him.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
Jack turned to her with wide eyes and he leaned into the hug she gave him. She patted his back and sighed.  
  
"How is he?"  
  
Jack shrugged his shoulders. He looked exhausted, probably was due to the entire days events.  
  
"He's sleeping. He did wake up a few minutes ago, started freaking out because he saw the drip in his hand. He...he didn't say much, but after he had calmed down...he went back to sleep..."  
  
Chas nodded.  
  
"Right and the hospital better be providing some psychiatrist at least?"  
  
"Mhmm. Psychiatrists coming out tonight, to speak to him. He's so thin...how the hell did I not see what was going on? Didn't you see him Aaron?"  
  
Aaron bit his lip and he looked down. He took out Roberts phone and entered the code and opened the texts up.  
  
"Umm...I managed to find this on his phone..."  
  
Jack took the phone and he read it all, his face slowly turning red in pure anger. He shook his head and sighed.  
  
"How could I not have seen this? My own son-!"  
  
Chas frowned and stuck her hands on her hips.  
  
"Jack, it's not your fault! He's a kid! He's your son, he's the classic typical teenage boy who did amazing at hiding stuff from his dad. It's normal, you shouldn't need to feel bad..."  
  
Aaron looked through the window, finally getting a glimpse of Robert. He was laid on the bed and maybe it was the window or something but he swore Roberts skin looked yellow. The skin around his eyes looked...spotty?  
  
"Aaron, I know I'm asking a lot but...do you know who it was? Who it is sending Robert these...messages?"  
  
Aaron shook his head and Jack nodded. He looked through to Roberts window and then he looked at Chas.  
  
"Right, I think this calls for the police doesn't it? They can find out who sent the messages won't they?"  
  
Chas nodded and Aaron decided he might as well try and pitch up and try and help with something.  
  
"Umm, earlier today, someone from my French class took the picture. They also take part in the fitness room if that helps?"  
  
Jack silently thanked him when an old lady showed up and handed Jack a coffee. She looked at Chas and Aaron and gave them a small smile. Chas raised an eyebrow.  
  
"And you are...?"  
  
"Oh! Diane Blackstock! I uhh...I found Robert..."  
  
Jack nodded and proceeded to tell Chas about how Diane had found Robert earlier ready to jump off a bridge, and then followed him to return his bag only to find him later in the woods with his head swimming in his own puddle of sick. She managed to find out his contact details after going away with Robert in the ambulance and that's when they called Jack.  
  
"Right...well...thank you. Umm, oh, this is Aaron, my son, he's Roberts..."  
  
She hesitated before Aaron finished off her sentence for her because...well lets be honest...they weren't ever actually...broken up were they?  
  
"He's my boyfriend"  
  
Diane smiled.  
  
"Right, well I bet he'll be glad to see you soon wont he?"  
  
  
......  
  
11th June- Thursday  
  
  
"Mum, we're gonna be late!"  
  
"Aaron, would you calm down? We're not going to be late ok?!"  
  
He quietly apologised and looked in the plastic bag he had in his hands. Inside were some of Roberts clothes as well as his body wash and toothpaste because he forgot to pack that yesterday and a small tube of mentos.  
  
"You said visiting times start at two! It's nearly past t-!"  
  
Chas finally stood in front of Aaron and placed two hands on his shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze.  
  
"Aaron, youll have a whole two hours speaking to Robert and even then...i know i might sound a bit harsh, but...he might not be up for talking..."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"I'm sorry love, I'm just trying to tell you the reality of it..."  
  
"No it's fine. I know. Just...I just wanna find out who sent him all these messages..."  
  
.....  
  
  
There was no words to explain how happy Jack was when Robert woke up from his sleep. His hands twitched in Jack's hold and Jack stood up to lean over his son and give him a kiss on his head. Who cares if Robert was eighteen years old, he would always always be his son, his idiotic baby son he loves.  
  
It was frightening, so so frightening to see your own son lie in bed, smelling of sick, skin a mixture of yellow and grey as he looked like a pile of bones. The skin around his eyes was coloured a light grey-blue with a huge looking rash surrounding his eyes. The doctors said it wasn't a rash, it was broken blood vessels that appeared due to Roberts harsh vomiting and thankfully would disappear in a few days.  
  
Robert ended up lying on his side, so he moved so he could sit up and he looked around the room. He looked fairly confused and when he moved his left hand, he accidentally yanked on the drip connecting to the needle in his hand. He hitched a breath and looked around again before his eyes landed on his dad and sudden realisation hit him then.  
  
"It didn't work..."  
  
Jack nodded, agreeing with his son and he wiped his eyes.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, you're damn right it didn't work. And I'm so glad it didn't work..."  
  
Robert nodded and leaned back against his pillow. The pillow fell down to his lower back and before he could turn to fix it, his dad was already there picking it up and gently pushing Robert back to lean against it, get him in a more comfortable position.  
  
"Robert...don't you remember much of yesterday?"  
  
Robert shook his head as he racked his brain for answers.  
  
"I remember...remember throwing up a lot? And I...umm...a therapist guy or something? And..."  
  
Robert stopped talking and his eyes immediately filled with tears, bottom lip trembling in extreme worry.  
  
"Am I getting sent away?"  
  
Jack shook his head and leaned forwards to hug his son. How the hell had he gotten so thin?  
  
"No. I promise, you won't be sent away. Not under my watch. You're going to be here...and you're going to recover...and get better, yeah?"  
  
Robert nodded and Jack began to fix his son's hair. The side of his head was all hard with the sick that had firmed up and he couldn't even go for a shower yet because he needed to get the rest of the drip in him. The bag was nearly empty and the machine told them he had twenty minutes left.  
  
"Where's my phone?"  
  
Jack paused and leaned back in his chair. Suppose now was the perfect time to tell him everything...  
  
"You're not going to be getting your phone back right now..."  
  
"Wha-"  
  
"Because...Robert, we've seen everything. Trust me when I say this, but the police have been called and they're gonna investigate whoever's sending you these texts...why didn't you tell us you were getting bullied?"  
  
Robert didn't answer, just shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his lap in shame. Nobody was supposed to find out, it would just cause problems for everyone wouldn't it?  
  
"And we went through your social media too...what the hell is meanspo? Thinspo? There's even a warning when you try and go onto it...come on, what's going through that head of yours?"  
  
Roberts eyes filled with tears again and he wiped them away as he still stared down in his lap.  
  
"I'm fat..."  
  
"Robert, you weigh just under eight stone!"  
  
"No I don't. I weigh...well I should be twelve..."  
  
"No. No you don't...you weigh so little. Don't you remember them weighing you yesterday?"  
  
Robert shook his head. No. He could barely remember yesterdays events at all.  
  
"Is Vic alright?"  
  
Jack sighed.  
  
"She's upset. Taking the rest of the week off school. Same for Andy aswell..."  
  
"Ok. And...and Aaron?"  
  
"Is also upset but it's Chas you'll need to speak to for him..."  
  
Robert nodded and Jack reached over to grab his son's hand and squeeze. They ended up talking for a whole twenty minutes, talking about Robert when he was a baby and all the troublesome things he got up to. The way he had his mum wrapped around his little finger and then Jack sighed and patted the bed.  
  
"Rob...you promise me one thing yeah? You won't do this again, will you?"  
  
"Ok. I promise..."  
  
"You're not just saying that to get me off your back are you?"  
  
Robert sighed loudly.  
  
"I don't know...I...I don't know if I'll do it again, but I know I don't want to do it again? I don't want to die...but after this, there might be a chance I'll...it's complicated..."  
  
Jack nodded. Ok, he would take that. He looked up at the window and saw Chas wait there with Aaron and he smiled.  
  
"Anyways, looks like you've got new visitors don't you?"  
  
At that point, Chas walked in with a couple of balloons in her hands and she gave him a huge smile.  
  
"Oh! Sleeping beautys awake now! Well, I brought balloons because they're fun and theres also bubbles but I don't think they're good anymore and-!"  
  
Aaron nudged her in the side and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Mum...seriously?"  
  
"Yes seriously! Who doesn't love balloons in their room? I know I did when I was pregnant with you and don't complain because I heard nowt complaining when I pushed you out and you were happy to grab onto one when your gran held you-"  
  
"Ugh! Mum too much information!"  
  
She winked and handed the balloons over to sit beside Roberts bed, away from the machines. Robert gave them a small smile each and eyed the bag that Aaron carried. He saw a packet of mentos through the bag...  
  
Jack coughed and stood up.  
  
"Chas, I am dying for a cup of coffee, get me one yeah?"  
  
She rolled her eyes but guided him out the room anyways.  
  
"Charming..."  
  
And they left, leaving the two boys to speak alone. Aaron sat down where Jack was sitting previously and he lightly punched Roberts leg that was hidden underneath the blanket.  
  
"You fruitcake. The hell were you thinking you idiot? You said you ain't going anywhere until you're like 80 or summat, not 18, ok?"  
  
Robert gave him a smile and Aaron stood up to lean over and give him a kiss on the head. Robert squeezed his eyes shut before leaning his head back further to try and get away from Aaron.  
  
"No..."  
  
Aaron raised an eyebrow.  
  
"No? What's wrong?"  
  
"I was horrible to you...I'm a bad person aren't I? So-"  
  
"Bad person? You're not a bad person Robert. You're just...you've just hit a low, and you'll get out of it won't you?"  
  
Robert shrugged his shoulders because even he wasn't sure. He didn't know what would happen next...would he get better? Worse even?  
  
"Sorry about mum bringing in all the balloons-"  
  
"I'm sorry...so so sorry for breaking up with you..."  
  
To his surprise, Aaron chuckled and gave Robert a teary eyed smile.  
  
"We weren't ever really broken up were we?"  
  
Robert chuckled.  
  
"True..."  
  
Aaron grabbed his hand, the one with no needle or drip connected to it and he squeezed. Robert squeezed back before he yawned.  
  
"Tired?"  
  
"Yeah. Dunno how, all I've done is sleep"  
  
"Lazy"  
  
"Shut up. Are...are you sure? You even wanna stay with me? I mean-"  
  
Aaron squeezed his hand harder accidentally and he gave Robert a stern look.  
  
"I want to be with you Robert. You're my boyfriend...and obviously I love you and...and..."  
  
"Loves a bit of a strong word"  
  
"No. It's the right word. And you're the right one. For me. Ok? I'm serious...after you get out of here, you'll recover and you'll be in a better mindstate and-"  
  
Robert scoffed at that, suddenly finding more and new problems in his head. He remembered what would actually happen when he properly recovered.  
  
"What about school? My exams? Everyone hates me..."  
  
"They don't hate you! They know someone else is behind this, Miss Grant told everyone that someone was behind your fake insta account"  
  
Robert made a small oh sound before the door opened and in walked...two policemen? They looked at the whiteboard that was hung on the wall behind Robert saying his name on it when they spoke.  
  
"Robert Sugden?"  
  
Robert raised an eyebrow and sat up. Aaron frowned at the two adults in front of them.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"We would like to speak to you? About the cyberbullying?"  
  
Robert hesitated but nodded and Aaron frowned even deeper.  
  
"Uh, you wanna wait until he's better? He's in hospital!"  
  
They looked at Aaron and ignored him, making him slightly angrier before the room was filled with Chas and Jack aswell. Jack looked at the scene before connecting the dots...kinda.  
  
"He didn't do it! If you try and arrest him for cyberbullying, it wasn't him! I've already told y-"  
  
The taller policeman with blonde hair put a hand on Jack's shoulder and sighed.  
  
"Do you wanna stay aswell? This kind of involves you too..."  
  
Jack nodded and Chas walked out the room with Aaron following her. They ended up heading to the cafeteria and the policemen began to talk about the situation.  
  
"We've arrested Andy Sugden on suspicion of cyberbullying"  
  
Jack's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, to find out that the police had arrested his other son?! Surely there was a mistake? Robert said nothing, just wanted to wait for them to continue.  
  
"He's admitted to it as well as some other things like an extra phone that he's been using to send you the texts. The reasoning behind these actions because of..."  
  
The policeman with grey hair opened up a notebook and flicked through the pages, showing the blonde man.  
  
"An accident with Katie Addyman?"  
  
Robert nearly flinched. Katie...  
  
"Does that ring a bell?"  
  
Robert nodded and Jack strictly told him no with a stern look in his eyes. Robert ignored him though and cleared his throat.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah it does..."  
  
The two policemen nodded and the grey haired one told Jack to get out the room whilst they spoke to Robert alone. The blonde one sat down closer to Robert and sighed.  
  
"Ok, so tell me. What happened with Katie Addyman?"  
  
"Ok. When...when we were all 14-15 we decided to go to Wylies farm to hang out, for some weird reason. We were playing a sort of...hide and tag? And me and Aaron were at the top floor with Katie. I had already tagged Aaron so he was sitting down and then I went to tag Katie and...the floorboards gave out from underneath her. Apparently she broke her neck..."  
  
They nodded and Robert took a deep breath. Remembering all this horrid stuff wasn't nice at all.  
  
"So why would Andy hate you for an accident then?"  
  
"Because...obviously a year later, me and Aaron ended up being together and Andy got it into his head that I was ashamed of my sexuality or something? That apparently me and Aaron were getting it on all the time, Katie found out and I pushed her because I was that scared of who I am. Which is ridiculous because I didn't do it"  
  
The police seemed to be satisfied with that answer because they cleared their throats and stood up and left the room before wishing Robert a speedy recovery. They shut the door behind them and Jack rushed in and immediately started asking for answers because Andy wasn't answering his phone.  
  
Robert felt his eyes fill with tears, the feeling of betrayal running through his body.  
  
"It was him...everything was him..."  
  
......  
  
In the end, Robert returned from hospital. He went straight home and had to rest in the livingroom because he refused to sleep in his own room full of too many bad memories. He tried to move about as much as he could, not used to the laziness but his dad kept a very close eye on him.  
  
The first night in the house was fine.  
  
The second was fine.  
  
The third? Not so fine. He ended up on his hands and toes as he tried to do a couple of push ups and of course his own dad had caught him and Robert broke down again claiming he was fat and that everything in the house reminded him of something bad. He could barely even watch the television adverts because they were all about healthy eating or mental health and....  
  
Well Robert never really thought of it but...  
  
His life was now surrounded by these mental healths...  
  
How in the hell was he supposed to be a good businessman now?  
  
So Jack made a couple of calls and he waited...and waited...and the next day, he looked at his phone bill and wanted to bloody cry because damn that was expensive. He called Chas, had a couple of long conversations with Victoria and packed up most of his things.  
  
......  
  
18th June- Thursday  
  
  
"Mum! I'm heading over to see Robert!"  
  
Chas rushed through to the back and grabbed her sons wrist.  
  
"Uh hang on, he's not recovered yet"  
  
"But you said three days and I could visit. It's been four so technically I've been good, ok?"  
  
"You can't! He's out with Jack at the moment"  
  
Aaron crossed his arms and stared at his mother. She was acting weird and suspicious...too suspicious.  
  
"Mum. Why can't I see Robert?"  
  
She sighed and stepped back.  
  
"I'm sorry love...it was either there or a hospital for him..."  
  
"What you talking about?!"  
  
"Jack's took him to Spain to stay with his gran. For a few months. We're looking after Victoria..."  
  
Aaron didn't speak to his mum for a whole two weeks after that. Paddy found him in his room reading a book to his surprise and when he saw Aaron burst into tears, he rushed in and asked him what the hell had happened there. Aaron wiped his eyes and kept his hands there, not wanting to see anyone right now.  
  
"Callum got hung! Why did they have to hang him just because he loved Sephy?! She doesn't get to say what she wants to say and he's just gone!"  
  
And Paddy had no idea who Callum and Sephy were, but he hugged Aaron anyways and knew he was talking about him and Robert.

....................................................................

 

**Five Months Later**

**.**

**12th December- Saturday**

.

.

.  
  
Jack patted the top of his son's head gently before unbuckling his seatbelt. The pair of them ended up seated in the front of Jack's car, staring at the pub right in front of them. Robert had a healthy glow to him, skin a golden colour from the sunny weather in Spain and his hair was even a brighter blonde thanks to the sun rays. He had definitely grown in weight, a healthy weight this time, not extremely chubby, but not stick thin either. His stomach had a thin layer of pudge, enough for him to pinch it unlike before when he couldn't pinch anything.  
  
His clothes fit him again, all snug and neat around his body, his jeans no longer needing a bobble to tie it tighter. He smiled more than ever and yeah, with loads and loads of counselling, still recieving counselling now, he was better.  
  
He wasn't exactly a hundred percent better but he was there and that was enough. His gran was welcoming, happily taking him and Jack in her house and of course as soon as she found out about Andy, she was very sympathetic towards Robert.  
  
It took two whole months of crying and freaking out whenever a plate of food was there in front of Robert. Another month of counselling with health carers in Spain of discussing feelings and Roberts...condition.  
  
But he got through it. He did.  
  
They did leave Victoria back home in Emmerdale and Chas didn't mind to be looking after the teenager for Jack whilst they were away. Victoria did say she wanted to go with Robert and Jack but Jack made it clear that Victoria had to stay here to continue with school.  
  
Speaking of school, Jack did get in contact with Roberts school, and they said they were more than happy to allow Robert to repeat his year seeing as it would be unfair for him to sit his exams right now.  
  
Andy?  
  
Well, Jack washed his hands of him. The whole family did. Victoria wasn't happy, Robert obviously wasn't happy and Jack decided enough was enough and got rid of him. Jack did receive some calls from the police, updating him on the Andy Sugden case and the final call was to tell Jack that Andy had received two years in prison.  
  
Who else?  
  
Aaron...  
  
God, Robert didn't know what he wanted to say to Aaron when he would see him soon. It wasn't as if Aaron could contact him and when Jack called Chas over Skype, Chas would always try to get Aaron on the screen only for Robert to refuse to speak to him. It was definitely a dick move but... he just thought that if he spoke to Aaron online, he would miss him even more. After a whole two months of this happening, Chas stopped asking Aaron to come to the call and just spoke to Jack himself.  
  
"Robert?"  
  
Robert turned his head to face his dad and he hummed in response. Jack sighed and chewed the inside of his gum. Maybe coming back right now was too soon?  
  
"I said, do you wanna go in?"  
  
Robert looked at the pub again and watched the lights outside switch on due to the dark nights. He sighed and then shook his head.  
  
"No. Home?"  
  
"You sure?"  
  
Robert sighed and shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Dunno..."  
  
"Ok. How about, we go in, see your sister and Chas and then go home and rest, yeah?"  
  
Robert paused for a couple of seconds, thinking it over in his mind. He just wanted to sleep if he was honest, thinking of everyone and what to say to everyone when he got back was all he could think about. It was hard, really hard.  
  
Jack switched off the heating in the car and Robert heard the engine stop running.  
  
"Ok, let's go in"  
  
Robert unclipped his seatbelt and pulled the door handle, pushed the door wide open and stepped out. The air was even colder here, fresh but stunk of cigarette smoke unlike in Spain when you could literally feel your nose burn with the sun. The cold hit Roberts cheeks, making him pull his coat around his torso even tighter and he shivered. He had missed summer here, the ice-cream van that drove around at a ridiculous time and all the kids screaming at each other whilst shooting one another with water guns.  
  
Kids didn't shoot each other with water guns in Spain, they all sat around sipping on slush puppies and eating ice-cream and just...well sat there. Most of them were on their bikes and Robert had a couple of Spanish girls flirt with him only for him to tell them he had a boyfriend back home. They were not happy one bit.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
Jack slammed his door shut and walked around to stand beside Robert who was now leaning against the car door.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"People won't make a fuss will they? Like...like a huge fuss?"  
  
"We'll go in through the back, yeah? That way, there won't be a huge fuss"  
  
Robert agreed and held onto his dad's arm to sort of...try and convince himself to not run away. He had depended on his dad for a lot throughout these hard months, now he would depend on him for the first time back in Emmerdale.  
  
They walked through the back, Robert immediately looking at the stairs, wondering if Aaron was up there. Would he remember him? It sounded stupid because he was only gone for a bit over five months, but still.  
  
Jack walked through to the back room where he saw his daughter and Diane sit at the table, both sipping cups of tea. Victoria widened her eyes and leaped out her seat to hug her brother.  
  
"Robert!"  
  
She cried gently into his shirt and he might have cried a little into her hair but who cared. Jack ended up hugging both of his children with his large arms and brought them all in for a family hug, glad to see his daughter in person again after so long. Diane just sat there and smiled at them all and Jack released from the hug, gave Victoria a kiss on the cheek and the back door opened. Robert looked over, hoping it would be Aaron when he saw it was Chas and Paddy instead.  
  
Chas let out the biggest smile and hugged Robert as well as Paddy.  
  
"Oh! Look at you! So tanned, so tall, still not growing a beard then?"  
  
Robert scoffed.  
  
"As if. I like my baby face thank you"  
  
Paddy grinned.  
  
"Yeah? You won't be saying that to Aaron soon"  
  
Robert stilled for a second and Paddy wondered if he had said something bad there for him to freeze up like he did. Instead, he smiled and hugged Chas and Paddy again and Chas pointed at the door with her thumb.  
  
"He's in his room if you want to see him"  
  
Robert took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before patting her back with a final hug and turned to leave the room. He looked up at the stairs in the dimly lit hallway and slowly but surely took one step up. Wow. It felt like...like...he was ready to brave the hardest mission in the world...  
  
By the time he reached the top, he looked over at Aaron's room and saw the light flood in from the cracked open door. He peeked in and saw Aaron's back to the door. He was making his bed, arranging the pillows and Robert had to hold in a laugh when he watched Aaron look down at a sock on the floor and kicked it underneath his bed, not bothering to pick it up.  
  
He decided enough was enough and took a deep breath and pushed the door open as quietly as he could. Unfortunately, the Woolpack structure was old and the door let out a loud creaking noise and Aaron turned around with a frown, ready to yell at whoever had walked in without knocking.  
  
Instead, he froze and just stood there with his mouth wide open and Robert saw what Paddy had meant when they talked beards...  
  
Because Aaron had a cute little black stubble all around his mouth and chin and Robert wondered if that started when he left. It had to...had it only been five months?  
  
Robert smiled and rocked back and forth on his heels like a child.  
  
"Did you win the game then?"  
  
Aaron scoffed and wiped his eyes and rushed towards Robert and wrapped his arms around him as tight as they could without hurting him. Robert wrapped his arms around Aaron, rubbing his back like he remembered he liked and Aaron already began making Roberts shoulder damp with his tears.  
  
Aaron was just so glad to feel how different Robert felt compared to months ago when he was thin and at deaths door, quite literally.  
  
"Our football teams shite Robert. Obviously we lost..."  
  
Robert let out a breathy laugh at that and Aaron just...kept his arms wrapped around Robert, both of them not realising that they were swaying side to side. Almost like they were dancing.  
  
"I got an F by the way. In my Maths exam"  
  
"Algebra?"  
  
Aaron nodded and pulled back with a smile. He rubbed his eyes and Robert thumbed the sides of Aaron's face, not quite believing he was here, in front of him in the flesh. He thumbed at Aaron's stubble and giggled.  
  
"You keeping it then? This beard?"  
  
"Hmm...do you like it?"  
  
Robert shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Maybe? Dunno how it feels though"  
  
Aaron grinned and looked at Roberts lips and then back to his eyes. Robert seemed to get the hint straight away and leaned in to lightly press his lips against Aarons, fingers shaking slightly as they cupped the side of his boyfriends face. Aaron wasn't even embarrassed to be crying because Robert was doing the same and Aaron pulled away with a smile.  
  
"So?"  
  
Robert smiled and kissed Aaron's face all over. He pulled back and nodded.  
  
"It's tickly, but i like it"  
  
Aaron laughed and grabbed a hold of Roberts hands and pulled him towards the bed. He ended up kissing him again before taking out his phone and lay them both down on the bed, Aaron settled in Roberts arms as they snuggled on the bed. Aaron put an earphone in one ear and Robert put the other in his ear and and they ended up lying there, talking about everything and anything whilst Roberts playlist blasted out on Aaron's phone through the earphones.  
  
An hour and a half later, Jack decided that he wanted to check on his son and Chas also wanted to see how happy Aaron was, so they both walked upstairs quietly and snuck over to Aaron's room door. They pushed the door open and the two parents smiled at the sight in front of them. Because their sons lay together all snuggled up on the bed, sharing earphones and were fast asleep whilst hugging each other as tight as they could in their sleep.  
  
Chas shut the door after sending Jack a knowing look and a smile, glad her son had his own smile back.  
  
...........  
  
Fourteen Years later....  
  
  
"Aaron, you don't need to put that much suncream on her. The hats enough, see?"  
  
Aaron ignored what his husband said and applied another small blob of sun cream onto the blonde baby's nose. He continued to make funny faces, making baby Olivia give her dads a gummy smile and Robert chuckled. They were all currently at the park, on a very hot summers day. In a week, it would be Roberts 32nd birthday and if Robert was honest, he would prefer to spend his birthday like this.  
  
A day out on the lush green grass whilst they had a family picnic that sat beside the play park in front of them. Sebastian was currently in the park, constantly yelling over at his two dad's to look at him swing about on the monkey bars. He was six, and energetic and had a huge mop of shaggy blonde hair, much like Robert. Baby Olivia was the same, managing to grasp a hold of Roberts genes and she ended up being a pure blonde too. She was only two, but she could throw her tantrums already...  
  
She leaned against Roberts chest, standing up in between his spread out legs because she was learning how to walk, a bit slow, but she was getting there. Aaron put away the suncream, finally, and called Seb over loudly. Seb let go of the monkey bars and ran over to them with a smile.  
  
"Yeah?!"  
  
Aaron pulled Seb in for a hug and Robert squeezed his eyes shut because he knew what was coming...  
  
As soon as Aaron opened the sun cream bottle, Seb was throwing a tantrum.  
  
"No! I don't want stupid sun cream! I don't want stupid sun cream!"  
  
Olivia saw her big brother's distress and that set her off straight away, crying loudly with a wail and Robert began to comfort her with a hug. She calmed down and Aaron managed to calm Seb down by bribing him with an extra cake later. Bad, but it worked.  
  
Seb stuck his tongue out and Aaron grabbed Olivia from his husband to pepper a million kisses on her face, making the baby giggle. Roberts phone rung and he took it out making Aaron roll his eyes.  
  
"Do you ever switch that off?"  
  
"It's Priya"  
  
"So tell her you're busy. She knows it's your day off...I've got Adam to cover for me at the scrapyard like you do with Priya"  
  
"Yeah, but she can't handle the business on her own. Remember she's got Amba today aswell"  
  
Aaron took the phone from Robert making him shout in surprise and answered it.  
  
"Hiya. Priya? Look, we're actually out on a family picnic...uhuh...yeah well bring Amba over tomorrow and she can have a playdate with Liv, ok? Right, see you. Cheers, bye"  
  
He hung up and grinned.  
  
"See?"  
  
"What did she want?"  
  
"Just to see if Liv was free. She's coming over tomorrow at two, ok?"  
  
Robert nodded and exhaled from the heat getting to him and he took off his t-shirt. His shorts were keeping his legs cool, but not his t-shirt. Aaron raised an eyebrow and held up Liv as she leaned against his stomach.  
  
"Hot?"  
  
Robert smirked.  
  
"Obviously"  
  
"Shut up. You know what I mean"  
  
"Well...yeah?"  
  
Robert gasped when he saw a familiar look on Aaron's face and said no straight away.  
  
"No Aaron"  
  
"Uh-what?!"  
  
"I know what you're gonna say...and I'm saying no..."  
  
Aaron frowned and then groaned when he saw that his husband had indeed seen right through him.  
  
"Oh Robert please!"  
  
"No! We are not getting a dog!"  
  
Aaron pouted and held onto Liv's hands, speaking to her with a childish voice.  
  
"Daddy Roberts being unreasonable again isn't he? Yes he is..."  
  
"Well Daddy Aaron better shut up or he's not getting his surprise for his 30th doesn't he?"  
  
Aaron gasped and Robert chuckled.  
  
"I'm kidding"  
  
Aaron mouthed the word 'asshole' to Robert, not swearing in front of his child and he smiled as Robert pulled out a tub of grapes out the picnic basket. He pulled out a plastic knife and cut one in half and halved it again and gave one to Liv. He threw a full one at Aaron who caught it expertly in his mouth and Aaron called Seb back over. The child was not a happy bunny to be called over again.  
  
Aaron watched Robert pull grapes out of the tub to pile them on a plate and he handed Seb them.  
  
"Go on, eat up, healthy foods first before sweets remember?"  
  
Aaron fed Liv a few more grapes and Seb sat between Roberts legs to eat his plate full of grapes. He only liked the green ones because purple was for girls apparently...  
  
Robert sighed and wrapped his arms around his son when Aaron looked up at Robert with a sad smile.  
  
"Oh yeah, are we going to visit your dad later? And Diane?"  
  
Robert nodded.  
  
"Yeah. How's that sound Seb? Wanna go visit Grandpa and Grandma?"  
  
Seb cheered in response and Robert squeezed him with a chuckle. They would visit later, pick up white Lillies for his stepmum and dad at the shop and then set them down at their graves. They would update them both on their lives and Olivia would probably try and squirm out of Aaron's grip because there was always squirrels around the cemetery and she loved them for some weird reason. Seb would say a prayer because he believed in God and loved attending church and go home and count his rosary beads for his granny and grandpa.  
  
That was just life though, no matter how hard it had became for them.  
  
And if Liv returned home one day, exhausted from school and claimed she didn't want to eat for the third day in a row, Robert had no worries about it. He sent Aaron a look and Aaron sat down at the table beside Liv just as Robert opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"You know, when i was younger..."  
  
And that was only the beginning of Liv's story.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave thoughts in the comments? It would help and mean a lot! Thank you!


End file.
